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SERMONS
PREACHED
IN THE
Mm IrotBstant (Kpistupl Cl^irtb,
OF
ST. THOMAS', PHILADELPHIA.
WM, DOUGLASS, Rector.
PHILADELPHIA:
KING & BAIRD, PRS., No. 9 SANSON STREET.
1854.
TO THE
CONGREGATION OF
ST. THOMAS' PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA ;
THE FOLLOWING SERMONS,
PREPARED AND PREACHED FOR THEIR BENEFIT,
ARE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED,
AS A SMALL EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE
FOR THE MANY TOKENS
OF ESTEEM AND LOVE
BESTOWED UPON THE AUTHOR
DURING HIS PAROCHIAL LABORS
AMONG THEM
FOR THE PERIOD OF NINETEEN YEARS.
Philadelphia, November, 1853.
CONTENTS.
SERMON I.
THE GOD OP HOPE.
Page.
Now the God op hope fill you with all joy and
PEACE IN BELIEVING, THAT YE MAY ABOUND IN
HOPE, THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST.
Rom. xv. 13 9
SERMON II.
PEACE IN CHRIST.
These things I have spoken unto you that in me
te might have peace. — Jno. xvi. 33 29
t) CONTENTS.
SERMON III.
SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS.
Page.
The eldeb, unto the well-beloved Gaius whom I
LOVE IN THE TRUTH. BELOVED, I WISH ABOVE
ALL THINGS THAT THOU MAYEST PROSPER AND BE
IN HEALTH, EVEN AS THY SOUL PROSPERETH
FOR I REJOICED GREATLY, WHEN THE BRETHREN
CAME AND TESTIFIED OF THE TRUTH THAT IS IN
THEE, EVEN AS THOU WALKEST IN THE TRUTH.
3dEpis. Jno. 1, 2, 3 53
SERMON IV.
MUTUAL FORBEARANCE AND FORGIVENESS.
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one
another, if any man have a quarrel against
any, even as christ forgave you, so also do
ye.— Col. iii. 13 71
SERMON V.
THE SIN OF GRIEVING THE SPIRIT.
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. — Eph.
iv. 30 93
CONTENTS. 7
SERMON VI.
THE FORBEARANCE AND RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF
GOD.
Page.
The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power,
and will not at all acquit the wicked.
Nahum. i. 3 Ill
SERMON VII.
PRICE IN HAND OF THE FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM.
Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a
fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart
to it? — Prov. xvii. 16 133
SERMON VIII.
THE SHORTNESS AND UNCERTAINTY OF TIME.
But THIS I SAY BRETHREN THE TIME IS SHORT. —
1 Cor. vii. 29 153
SERMON IX.
ADMONITION TO REDEEM THE TIME.
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Eph. v. 16 173
» CONTENTS.
SERMON X.
THE WISDOM OE DULY CONSIDERING THE LATTER END.
Pace
THAT THEY WERE WISE, THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD
THIS, THAT THEY WOULD CONSIDER THEIR LATTER
end! — Deut. xxxii. 29 193
SERMON XI.
A SACRED NEARNESS TO GOD RECOMMENDED.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to
you. — Gen. Epis. James iv. 8... 213
SERMON XII.
HAPPY END OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD.
For David after he had served his own genera-
tion by the will of God, fell on sleep.
Acts xiii. 36 231
S E E M N I.
THE GOD OF HOPE.
"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and
PEACE IN BELIEVING, THAT YE MAY ABOUND IN HOPE,
THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY GlIOST."
Rom. xv. 13.
In how many consoling aspects do the
inspired writings represent the great
Sovereign of the Universe, at whose
dread tribunal mankind are destined to
appear, to render an account of the deeds
done in the body. Conscious as we all
are of guilt and condemnation, had we
no other point of view to contemplate
our Creator, than, as All-wise, Just and
Omnipotent, what an accumulation of
bitterness would be mixed in that cup
of sorrow, of which, all more or less are
forced to partake, in their pilgrimage
2
I
10 THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I.
through mortality. There would then
be on the ocean of life, no haven of calm
repose to the troubled heart — it would
be perpetually tossed between the surg-
ing billows of faint hopes and alarming
fears. From the general goodnes of God
as displayed in his Providence, providing
all things plentifully both for man and
beast — "giving us rain from heaven and
fruitful seasons, filling our liearls with food
and gladness' 1 — from this single point
of view of God's Providence, we might
solace ourselves with some faint hopes
of his kind regards towards his erring
and sinful creatures. But how soon
would this hope be succeeded by the
most gloomy apprehensions in beholding
different aspects of the same Providence.
In view of the lightnings of heaven deso-
lating the habitations of man, and fear-
ful earthquakes ingulfing towns and
cities with their inhabitants — " the 'pesti-
lence that walketh in darkness" and " the
1 Acts xiv., 17.
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 11
destruction thai wasteth at noon-day" 1 — -the
variety of diseases and disasters to which
man is subject from the cradle to the
grave ; in view of these awful indications
of punitive justice, liope, in the clemency
of God would give way to agonizing fear.
The observing of our moral duties (at
best but very defective) could not restore
solid peace to our anxious hearts. The
consciousness of personal guilt and trans-
gression, with its attendant forebodings
of the wrath to come, would forbid it.
Upon our destiny in the future world,
would hang an impenetrable cloud. If
we anticipated any thing at the eventful
close of our mortal career, it could be
nothing but the righteous vengeance of
Heaven, upon our repeated violations of
his laws. This would be our wretched
state, had we no grounds to regard our
Maker in any other aspect than as All-
wise, Just and Omnipotent. But the
great Father of the Universe has not
1 Ps. xci, ? 6.
12 THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I.
thus hid from his church and people
the smilings of his countenance. He
has made a further revelation of his
divine character in the inspired volume.
The representations he has there made
of himself, so far from being repulsive,
are the most pleasing and attractive.
They are calculated to excite hope and
confidence, and thereby win our affec-
tions. For while we therein learn that
ha "will not at all acquit the ivicTced" 1
we are also informed from the same
divine oracles, that he is " the Lord, the
Lord God, merciful and gracious, abun-
dant in goodness* — the God of all com-
fort, 3 the God of all gracef the God of
peace." 5 These titles, with others of a
similar character that ^might be men-
tioned, are indicative, of not only what
our Creator is in himself, but also what
he is to us. In the words of the text,
1 Nahum. i., 3. a Ex. xxxiv., 6.
3 2 Cor. i., 3. 4 2 Peter v., 10.
5 Horn. xv. j 33.
SER. I.] THE GOD OE HOPE. 13
he is presented under the endearing title
of the God of hope. He is thus repre-
sented, because that "lively hope" which
can sustain the soul amidst the various
trials of life comes from God, and finally
leads us on to the enjoyment of his
beatifick presence.
There is a hope which man derives
from the constitution of his nature. It
shows itself in early childhood. At
mature age, he clings, to it as a cheerful
companion in his multiplied pursuits in
life, and too often, never relaxes his
grasp upon the airy phantom, until com-
pelled to do so by the irresistible arm of
death. What is it that gives the most
buoyancy and light-heartedness to the
smiling youth ? Is it the survey of the
wondrous works of nature, and the great
achievements of human skill that pre-
sent themselves to their senses ? . Or,
will the novelty of these scenes account
for their wonted hilarity and glee? No.
2*
14 THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I.
It is hope in the future of joys to be
realized in the acquisition of this, that,
or the other prize which earth imparts
to a few of her devoted followers. What
is it that buoys up the mariner as he
leaves his friends, kindred and home, to
brave the perils of the deep, but hope,
that he will safely return with the fruits
of his hard toil and labor. What but
hope that sustains the soldier as he leaves
his domestic comforts, to engage in the
strife and dangers of the battle field ?
It is true, that patriotism, a sense of duty
to his country, may strengthen his heart
and give energy to his arm ; but the hope
that he may escape death and return to
his native land to share the honors of
successful war, is the secret ^spring that
nerves him up -to the terrible encounter.
What is it that has inspired so many for
the past few years, to suspend their busi-
ness and leave their homes for the gold
regions of Australia and California; but
the hope of returning richly repaid for all
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 15
the hard drudgery to which they sub-
mitted. What is it that cheers the sick
man upon his bed of languishing but the
hope, that through medical aid and good
attendance, he will again renew his
wonted strength and vigor, and be thus
prepared to resume his daily avocation.
This hope as we before said is natural to
us ; and seems to be a merciful provision to
keep man from sinking under the various
difficulties and trials of his probationary
state. It is the spring that gives him
life and activity in all his movements.
But, as all the faculties, powers and
affections of the •soul, have so far suffered
by the sad fall of our fore-parents, that
they incline to things that are " earthly,
sensual and devilish" 1 rather than to
those things that are pure, spiritual and
godlike, hope therefore, unrenewed by
divine grace, proves to be a deceitful
guide. The object of pursuit is far from
being attained in every case. In those
1 James iii., 15.
16 THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I.
instances where it is attained, this hope
is sure to be disappointed in the enjoy-
ment of the happiness fondly anticipated.
The young and sprightly may not realize
their airy dreams of future joys and plea-
sures. The stern realities of life will
ever and anon admonish them of the
vanity of their pursuits. The soldier,
who hopes to return from the battle and
receive the plaudit and honors of his
countrymen, may leave his carcass among
heaps of the slain, to be devoured by the
beasts of the field and the fowls of the
air. The sick man may be forced to
resign hope, and yield to despair of
recovery, as death approaches with his
cold and icy hand upon his vitals.
The hope referred to in the text,
grows not in nature's garden. It is the
fruit of the Holy Spirit. The endearing
object of its regard is God, the inex-
haustible fountain of blessedness. It
therefore never fails — it never disap-
points us— it "maketli not ashamed; because
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 17
the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." 1
This holy hope is u an anchor of the soid,
both sure and steadfast, and lohich entereth
into that within the vail" 2 Hence it
buoys up the Christian under all the
trials, troubles and afflictions of life. It
will sustain him when u flesh and heart
faileth." 5 It will lead him with sweet
serenity and peace over Jordan's river,
and convey him safely to Canaan's happy
land. This heavenly guide will as infal-
libly lead the regenerate soul into the
beatifick presence of the King of saints and
angels 7 as did the miraculous star in the
east, which unerringly guided the wise
men to the consecrated spot, where their
astonished and adoring eyes beheld " God,
manifest in the flesh" 4 The hope now
referred to can have no place where there
is an absence of a true living faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ as the only Saviour of
1 Ptom. v., 5. 3 Hebrews, vi., 19.
3 Psa. lxxiii., 26. 4 1 Tim. ii;, 16.
18 THE GOD OP HOPE. [SER. I.
sinners. Faith lies at the foundation,
and sustains hope. It is the property
of faith to lay hold of the precious decla-
rations and promises of God as contained
in his written word, and to apply and
appropriate them. Hope, desires and
expects to realize all what God has
thus promised. In the exercise of faith
in the promises, joy and peace spring up
in the soul : and as hope follows upon
faith, so faith, as it increases, causes hope
to ■ 'abound' more and more. Hence the
prayer of the Apostle in behalf of his
Christian brethren at Eome: — that, "the
God of hope would fill" them "with all
joy and peace in believing that" they "may
abound in hope through the power of the
Holy Ghost"
They, therefore, who live in the enjoy-
ment of this hope are the sincere and
humble followers of Christ, who are born
again of the Spirit, and exalted to the
high dignity of " the sons of God." 1 They
1 1 John, iii. ; 22.
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 19
" in time past walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh
in the children of disobedience" 1 "being
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers from the covenants of promise, hav-
ing no hope, and without God in the world." 2
But through the rich mercy and grace of
God, the eyes of their understanding were
enlightened to perceive and feel their
wretched state and condition as sinners
before God. They saw themselves utterly
cut off from all hope of pardon and re-
conciliation with their Maker, u by the
deeds of the law" they had so often vio-
lated. All hope of working out a right-
eousness of their own, was immediately
crushed, upon meditating the startling
declaration : " Cursed is every one that con-
tinueih not in all things which are written
in the booh of the law to do them." 5 But,
on beholding that u : new and living way"
1 Eph. I, 2. 2 Bph. ii., 12. 3 Gal. iii,, 10.
20 THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I.
opened up for us by the blood of Jesus,
they " fled for refuge to lay hold upon"
that " blessed hope/' which is " set before
us" in the gospel. They found shelter
from the wrath of God, the curse of the
law, under the protection of the all-suffi-
cient sacrifice of Christ. From his inex-
haustible fulness, they receive fresh sup-
plies of grace to enable them to " live
soberly, righteously and godly, in this
present world" — " to use the world as not
abusing it" — u to pass through things tem-
poral, so as not to lose those things that
are eternal."
brethren, — the experience of a
goodly number of you, I trust, has thus
been briefly sketched. Some among you
have been timely awakened to see the
vanity of all that here dazzle and delude
the thoughtless and impenitent. You have
been enabled, through grace, to loosen your
attachment to them, and to prefer those
joys that are pure, spiritual and heavenly.
SEE. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 21
Your happy condition here does not ex-
empt you from pain, sorrow, and trials of
various kinds. These you have to meet,
as they come in their turn. But in the
midst of them all, you may sympathize
with the Psalmist when he said, " I wait
for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his
word do I hope." 1 Let me exhort you
therefore, to "hold fast the beginning of
your confidence firm unto the end" Let
your tribulations, trials and afflictions be
what they may, "press" onward " toivard
the marh for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus" increasing and
abounding in hope. Are you walking in
darkness and have no light ? Hear what
your Almighty friend and father says to
his afflicted Church, and hope on. "In a
little wrath I hid my face from thee for a
moment ; but with everlasting Idndness will
I have mercy on thee saith the Lord thy
Redeemer. For the mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed ; but my Idndness
1 Psa. cxxx.j 5.
3
22 THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I.
shall not depart from thee, neither shall the
covenant of my peace he removed, saith the
Lord that hath mercy on thee." 1 Are you
struggling against the fierce winds of ad-
versity ? Listen to the cheering voice of
your Kedeemer and lift up your hearts. —
" The very hairs of your head" says he,
" are all numbered." 2 There is no such
thing as chance in the history of God's
people. Every event of their life, however
afflictive in its character, is a link in that
golden chain, which is to raise them pro-
gressively, from earth to heaven. Are you
bowed down with the weight of years and
their increasing infirmities ? Hope in God
and rejoice, that the time is so near at hand,
when angels at the gate of Paradise, shall
hail you as an immortal born; born " to
an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled and
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven
for you, who are hept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation, ready to be
revealed in the last time." 3
1 Isa. liy., 8-10. 3 Luke, xii., 7. 3 1 Peter, i., 4.
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 23
A word of admonition and entreaty to
that class of our hearers, whose hopes are
all centered in this lower world. It is
true my deluded friends, that this earth
has its peculiar attractions. The innu-
merable multitude, that in every land,
throng the " broad toay that leadeth to
destruction" is proof positive, that some
strong enchantments are beguiling their
devious pathway to the unknown future.
But bear in mind, do not forget, in your
silly chase after a phantom, that this
planet, with all its fine furniture, is to be
dissolved. " The day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night, in the which,
the heavens shall pass away with a great
noise, and the elements shall melt with fer-
vent heat, the earth also and the ivories that
are therein shall be burned up. Nevertheless,
we according to his promise look for new
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness." 1 Yery precious, indeed, to
the Christian, is this promise. But it can
1 2nd Petar, iii. ; 10-13.
24 THE GOD OP HOPE. [SER. I.
afford no ground of hope to characters
which you now sustain. In these new
heavens and new earth spoken of, you can
have no portion. " There shall in no wise
enter into it any thing that defileth, neither
tvhatsoever worlcetli abomination, or maketh
a lie: hut they which are written in the
Lamb's booh of lifer 1 As your hopes were
placed upon the idols of earth, with the
idols of a burning earth, you will then be
left to perish. The lot of all who shall
then sustain the characters that you now
do, must be with hypocrites, unbelievers,
and all the abominable in the region of
hopeless misery and despair. We turn
aside from this awful picture to urge you
to seek, for, you may yet obtain the Chris-
tian's hope. You are yet within the reach
of mercy. The gospel with its inviting
voice, still calls. — Conscience, in clamor-
ous tones, still warns. — The Holy Spirit,
though as still in his influences as the
dew of the morning, yet powerfully strives
1 Rev. xxi. ; 27.
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 25
with you. — The great High Priest who
has passed into the heavens, still pleads
in your behalf. Your condition, there-
fore, wretched though it be, is not despe-
rate. However, there is something to be
done on your part, before you can attain
this inestimable prize. You must be up
and doing, co-operating with God. While
he workeih in you to will and to do of his
good pleasure^ you are to " work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling."
This hope is not attained by a few lazy
wishes and half-hearted endeavors. It is
attained only by an earnest, diligent and
persevering use of all the appointed means
of grace. There are difficulties to be sur-
mounted : hence, you are called upon in
the strength of divine grace, to renounce
the hidden works of darkness; to "strive to
enter in at the straight gate;' to " labor to
enter into rest" It is treasured up in
Christ ; therefore, your longing eye must
be constantly fixed upon him. In his
all-prevailing name alone, you must ap-
3*
26 THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I.
proach the throne of heavenly grace, and
ask, if you would receive, seek, if you
would find, and knock* knock, and knock
again, if you would have the door opened
unto you. You have the divine assur-
ance, that every one that thus " asketli
receiveth; and he that seeketh fincleth;
and to him that knocketh it shall he opened." 1
Oh, let me entreat you to begin this strug-
gle in good earnest. It is a noble and
magnanimous struggle — a battle against
self, against " flesh and blood ; against prin-
cipalities and powers ; against spiritual
wickedness in high places." It is therefore,
a formidable struggle. Apparently, the
odds are against you. Not so. Greater
is He that is for you, than all that can be
against you in this greatest of all battles.
Angels look on with the most intense in-
terest, to see the issue. And whenever
they recognize the cry of a soul newly
born of the Spirit, they immediately raise
the loud shout in heaven : — " the dead is
1 Matt, vii., 8.
SER. I.] THE GOD OE HOPE. 27
alive, the lost is found" God the Father,
who gave his only begotten Son to atone
for your sins- — God the Son, who redeemed
you by his blood — God the Holy Ghost,
who sanctifieth the people of God, are all
on your side in this noble warfare. Then
desert the camp of Satan. You know
that he has often deceived you, and but
for the Lord's mercy would have long
since led you onward to the pit of endless
woe. Escape then for your life : flee for
refuge to lay hold upon that hope which
comes from God, and will lead you to
those ineffable joys which He has laid up
for those who love him.
SERMON II.
PEACE IN CHRIST.
" These things i have spoken unto you, that in me
YE MIGHT HAVE PEACE." John, XvL, 33.
Peace of mind, is an object so invalua-
ble in itself, that there is no human being
but what regards it as worthy of his
most anxious toils and ardent pursuit
Men may not be uniform in their ways
to obtain it, yet, the desire to enjoy it, is
implanted deeply in every bosom. But
the great and important question is :—
Where is it to be found ?
Is it to be found in the empty mirth
and sinful pleasures of the world ? So
thinks the thoughtless and inexperienced
youth who is anxious to be free from
parental care and restraint, that he may
30 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SEU. II.
give loose rein to the indulgence of his
carnal and corrupt appetites and passions.
He views the sober class of society with
a degree of pain and disgust. To their
quiet and sedate movements he finds
nothing in himself congenial. If he at
all admits the wisdom and propriety of
their course, he is sure to do it in such a
way as to shield himself from conviction.
A strict regard to the serious affairs of
religion, is proper only, as he will have it,
for the aged, the sick and dying. But as
it regards the young and sprightly, let
them eat. drink and be merry — let them
mingle in the circle where counte-
nances brighten, and the heart leaps up
at the sound of the timbrel and dance ;
where their ears are saluted with the loud
laugh and the merry song. This, is their
proper element, here alone can the soul's
native thirst for happiness be gratified.
Thus reasons the votary of pleasure.
But we would in all kindness beseech
him to ponder his steps. Consider, if
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 31
indeed, among your many frivolous
thoughts there is room left for considera-
tion, consider well the solemn and ad-
monitory words, " There is a way which
seemeth right unto a man, hut the end
thereof, are the ways of death." 1 u Rejoice,
young man, in thy youth, and let thy
heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth,
and walk in the ways of thine heart, and
in the sight of thine eyes ; bid know thou,
that for all these things, God will bring thee
into judgment." 2 Be not deceived by
external appearances. The sprightly air,
the elastic step, the high spirits that mark
the men of worldly pleasure, are not to
be regarded as infallible signs of inward
peace. These outward marks, may be
nothing more than a screen to hide from
human view, an inward anguish of spirit,
unknown to all but that Omniscient
Being, from whom no secrets are hid.
The pleasure enjoyed in gratifying the
inordinate desires of the depraved heart,
1 Prov. xiv. ; 12. 2 Ecc. xi., 9.
32 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II.
is always followed, more or less, with
painful reflections. It is a false pleasure.
It is not a pleasure that results from the
whole machinery of man, moving on in
harmonious order, but a pleasure conse-
quent upon doing violence to the highest
faculty of our moral nature. There can
be no pleasure in sin, unless steps are
taken to hush the clamoring voice of
conscience, and thus degrade the im-
mortal spirit by bringing it into subjection
to the animal nature. When men suc-
ceed in this, then, they have a pleasure
similar to what is enjoyed in a delightful
dream, when the imagination chiefly is
at work — a pleasure, equally as false, and
which they find to be so, when they
are awakened by the rebukes of the
Spirit, or the fatal blow of death, who
forces them to acknowledge, that alas !
it was but a dream. We proceed now
to inquire : —
1. Whether or not true peace is to be
found in the acquisition of wealth. One
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 33
might suppose that it is, judging from
the great struggle there is among men in
order to acquire it. But a very slight
observation of those who have been suc-
cessful in this respect will convince us
of the contrary. There is nothing more
remarkable in man, than his proneness
to lose sight of whatever he may possess
of earthly riches, in his ardent desire to
add to his possessions. Vfhatever may
be the opinion of his fellow-men with
regard to his state, he himself is far from
being satisfied. The point where he sup-
poses that he might possibly consider
himself happy, he has not attained.
And should he attain it, he then finds
that his desires are so much more
enlarged, that he feels himself to be as
far from happiness as he did before :
such is the unsatisfying nature of tem-
poral things. Besides this, there is the
painful disquietude arising from the fear
of loss. For it is impossible for man so
to secure himself in these things as to be
4
34 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II.
out of all danger of loss. If he hear of
a fire, or of a vessel losing her cargo, or
of the sudden fall in the price of stock,
or of the dishonesty of individuals he
has credited ; or if he hear of the failure
of some monied institution in which he
is interested, he is filled with the most
painful anxieties of mind, from which
his present possessions cannot possibly
relieve him.
3. Is true peace to be found in the
honors of the world — in fame ? What
is fame ? We may have seen its nature
illustrated in the history of the great
political men of the present day. For a
little while we see them puffed by the
wind of a multitude; but how soon do
we behold them by the same multitude
as severely pelted. The conduct of the
people toward our blessed Lord, forcibly
illustrates the emptiness of fame, and
clearly shows how little to be depended
on is the applause of men. Those who
at one time cried : — " Hosanna, blessed
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 35
Is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord," at another, unite in the tumul-
tuous cry :— " Away with him, away with
him, crucify him." There are few only,
who by hard toiling and study, which
" is a weariness of the flesh," ascend the
hill of fame ; and those few, if they
attained all the happiness anticipated
by them, (which is far from being the
case,) we find that they generally meet
with a reverse which gives force to the
exhortation of Scripture : " Cease ye from
man whose breath is in his nostrils." 1 But
suppose, what is very rare, that the
breeze of popular favor should be unin-
terrupted in its course — that fame's
trumpet should sound forth their praise
without one discordant note. Pleasing
as this might be to the distinguished
personage, it is certain, that this circum-
stance can afford no comfort to the soul
while the body lay prostrate upon a bed
1 Isa. IL, 22.
36 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SEE. II.
of languishing — no stay and staff to the
trembling spirit when the solemn hour
of departing life arrives. A pompous
funeral would, doubtless, follow the de-
ceased to the house appointed for all
living. Sculptured marble would tell to
future ages the spot where rests the
honored remains. A similar tribute of
respect we may fairly conjecture, was
paid to the memory of that noted world-
ling we read of in holy writ. But it
could not reach his case, or meet his
necessity in the spirit land. While his
surviving friends were eulogizing his
name in this world, the thrilling mes-
sage that came back from Dives was :
"I am tormented in this flame." _ Thus
have we briefly inquired of the pleasures,
the profits, the honors of the world, and
in each department, a voice is heard say-
ing true peace is not to be found in me.
Where then is true and substantial hap-
piness to be found? Surely our heavenly
Father has not produced in our bosoms
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 37
this undying thirst after happiness to
be a perpetual source of torment to us.
Such a reflection cannot be indulged in
for a moment without incurring the guilt
of the most horrid blasphemy. u The
Lord is good to all : and his tender mercies
are over all his works." 1 The desire for
happiness has been incorporated in our
moral nature, for the benevolent purpose
of inciting us to seek it where alone it
can be found. Again we inquire, where
can it be obtained ? Let us hear what
the wise man of the east said on this
subject. He was surrounded by all the
magnificence and grandeur of a royal
court. He was eminent for profound
wisdom, and he diligently applied him-
self to the seeking of this invaluable
treasure. He tried every thing under
the sun that man calls good and great.
And what was the result of his long and
patient research ? The conclusion of the
1 Psa. exlv.j 9.
4*
38 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II.
whole matter to which he arrived was,
to — u Fear God and keep his command-
ments." 1 But a greater than Solomon is
here — the Lord from heaven — He whom
the prophet Isaiah points out as the
" Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the
Prince of Peace." 2 Let us then give the
more earnest heed to what he says on
this all-important subject : for he must
be perfectly acquainted with the things
that belong to our peace. He is now in
communication with that favorite few
from whom he is soon to take his depar-
ture. And it is reasonable to suppose
that he will plainly point out to them
the path of peace. This he does : but
his instructions on this subject are very
different from the notions they enter-
tained of happiness. Like many of the
present day, their views were too much
tinctured with the spirit of the world.
To have the kingdom restored unto
1 Ecc. xii. ; 13. 2 Isa, ix., 6.
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 39
Israel appears then to have been the
height of their ambition. And they had
entertained the hope that the great
object of his advent into this world was
to effect this desired end. But to their
great surprise, he expatiates upon his
death, resurrection and ascension to
heaven, and the glorious results that
would flow therefrom. In the precious
words that fell from his lips his God-like
benevolence shone forth conspicuously.
He knew very well the severe trials and
difficulties to which his disciples would be
exposed after his departure from them.
He knew that neither the temporal pros-
perity and glory of Israel, or any thing
else in this world was calculated to afford
solid peace to the soul. But he would
not leave them comfortless. Hence in
infinite love and compassion he assures
them that peace could be found no where
else but in him. u These things I have
spoken unto you that in me ye might have
peace."
40 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II.
" To he in Christ" is a Scriptural
expression that deserves special notice.
You are aware that the inspired volume
in representing the wretched condition of
fallen and degenerate man, sets before
him as the only firm ground of hope,
the vicarious atonement of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. It directs us with
penitent hearts and a lively faith to
ground our expectation of pardoning
mercy at the hand of God, solely on
the all-prevailing merits of the Saviour.
Now, as those only who thus rely, derive
from him all the special benefits,* bless-
ings and privileges procured by his death,
they are therefore represented as being
in him, or united to him by the appro-
jDriating property of that "faith which
works by love, purifies the heart, and
overcomes the world." This spiritual
union is compared by our Lord to the
vital connexion that exists between the
branch and the vine. "lam the vine"
says he, "ye are the branches: he that
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 41
ahideth in me, and I in him, the same
hrmgeth forth much fruit: for loithout nie
ye can do nothing" 1 As the branch de-
rives all its nourishment from its union
to the parent stock, so does the Christian
in like manner derive spiritual life, vigor
and fruitfulness through his union to Christ
by true faith. The characters therefore
who are properly designated as being in
Christ, are his true sincere followers; and
the happy result that follows from this
connexion is — they have peace. Let us
consider the nature of this peace which
can be found nowhere else but in Christ.
It is a spiritual peace, heavenly and
divine in its nature and origin. It is a
peace that relates to our Maker, our own
consciences and to all mankind. No one
is at peace with God in his natural and
impenitent state. In the bosom of every
man until renewed by divine grace, there
is a principle directly at war with the
Most High. It is irreconcilable in its
1 St. Jno. xv. ; 5.
42 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. IT.
hostility to the divine government. " The
carnal mind is enmity against God, is not
subject to his laws, neither indeed can be."
In consequence of this hostile position
maintained by the impenitent they are
objects of Heaven's righteous displeasure ;
and will inevitably perish by the hand of
divine justice, unless they avert it by a
timely reconciliation to his plan of salva-
tion, devised in mercy for the full reco-
very of man from the sad ruins of the fall.
Hence " there is no peace to the wicked,
they are like the troubled sea, that cannot
rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt."
They cannot enjoy peace and friendship
with God. They sit in darkness and in
the region and shadow of death. " God
is light, and in him is no darkness at
all." Light and darkness cannot amal-
gamate. 6 Two cannot walk together ex-
cept they agree.' The ungodly may often
contrive to hush the voice of conscience
and sing-a false peace to themselves ; but
there will be special seasons in their his-
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 43
tory when they are made to sweat and
agonize under its tortures, and the fearful
forebodings of the wrath to come. Now
as such persons are enemies to God, ene-
mies to themselves, they must also be
enemies to the true peace and happiness
of their fellow men. For he who is blind
to his own best interest, cannot be pre-
pared to consult the true interest of others.
They are all marshalled on the side of
their great Leader; "the Prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh
in the children of disobedience." 1 Their
influence is in opposition to that kingdom
which Christ came to establish — that
" kingdom" that consists " in righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" And
this is true of all the various grades of
character that obtain among the impeni-
tent. " He that is not with me" says our
Lord, " is against me ; and he that gather-
eth not with me scattereth abroad" 2 Thus
1 Eph. ii. ; 2. 2 Matt, xii., 30.
44 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II.
it is with the carnal mind which is en-
mity against God, destitute of true inward
peace, and in opposition to the true hap-
piness of their fellow-men. On the other
hand, those who maintain a vital union
w T ith Christ, are new creatures — e they
are begotten again' — they are " horn, not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God." 1 Whereas
in their unregenerate state, the principle
of hostility against the divine government
reigned in their bosoms, now, the hea-
venly principle of love to God is graciously
shed abroad in their hearts. And' while
they evince their love to Him by a sin-
cere and cheerful obedience to his laws,
Pie manifests his love and friendship to
them by sending forth his Spirit to seal
their pardon, remove their guilt, and
witness to their adoption into the hea-
venly family: so that instead of being as
before, tormented with a painful appre-
1 Jn . I, 13.
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 45
hension of his displeasure, they now have
the sweet comfort of regarding him as
their reconciled Friend and Father. They
have no ground to look for perfect and
uninterrupted happiness in this state of
probation and trial. While they remain
in this world, they expect their share of
tribulation — they count it not strange,
when they are in heaviness through
manifold temptations. Of all this they
have been forewarned by their Lord and
Master, to whose sufferings they must in
their measure be conformed, if they would
hope to participate with him in the inef-
fable glories of his kingdom above. But
it is their exalted privilege at all times,
to "look to the hill, from whence cometh
their help" — to approach the throne of
grace with humble boldness, and obtain
mercy and find grace to help in their
peculiar time of need — " in every tiling by
prayer and supplication ivith thanksgiving"
to c let' their " requests be made known unto
God ; and the pea.ce of God wl rich pass eih
5
46 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II.
all understanding, shall keep" their " hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus." 1 The
peace that flows from this source is called
the peace of God, because he is the author
and supporter of it. It is said to pass all
understanding, because its nature and
excellency can be fully set forth by no
human tongue. We do not say that the
ungodly have no pleasure. It is the plea-
sure which they enjoy in the gratification
of their carnal desires, appetites and pas-
sions, that so allures, captivates and holds
them in durance vile, that they have no
desire to be elevated above earth ; no
desire to have their eyes opened to behold
that radiant host of angels, patriarchs,
prophets and apostles who all point to
the Lamb of God as the only way to
glory, immortality, and eternal life. So
enfeebled are they in their moral nature,
that they cannot command the energy to
imitate the noble example of Moses, who
1 Phil. iv. ; 6.
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 47
would "rather suffer affliction with the
people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of
sin for a season!' 1 Ah ! how true it is,
that the pleasures of sin are but for a
season : — they are momentary. And be-
sides, they leave an ' aching void' within.
They leave nothing to which the mind
can recur with pure and pleasing delight.
Not so with the peace of God. The
sweet tranquillity the believer enjoys
from a sense of pardon and acceptance
with his Maker, is rendered doubly pre-
cious from the fact, that it is a pledge, a
foretaste of that eternal " rest that remains
for the people of God." Hence it is said
to be l a peace that flows as a river.' As
a river flows onward and becomes wider
and deeper as it approaches the ocean into
which it is ultimately lost ; so does the
peace which Jesus gives, flow on pleas-
antly in the soul, increasing in its depth,
expanding in its onward course, until it
1 Heb. xi. ; 25.
48 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II.
is finally lost in the boundless ocean of
never-ending peace. Here then is that
precious jewel which can satisfy the soul
of man, because it is every way suited to
his immortal nature, and fully adequate
to meet his wants both in this world and
that which is to come.
How unspeakably happy is the lot of
sincere Christians. The blessed Kedeemer,
though seated at the right hand of the
majesty on high, yet manifests himself
unto them as he does not unto the world.
He still addresses you by his word and
Spirit in the same tones of love, tender-
ness and compassion, that charmed the
hearts of that little band that followed
him in the days of his humiliation. When
you are in heaviness through manifold
temptations — when exposed to the piti-
less peltings of storm after storm — when
the heart is sad and cheerless under the
bereavement of some near and dear
friend ; or when the foul breath of
slander has prevailed against you, causing
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 49
friends to forsake and enemies to ex-
claim : c there, there, so we would have it ;'
in these dark hours, you may hear the
words of Jesus like the soft music of
heaven falling sweetly upon your ears,
saying, "Peace I leave with yon, my 'peace
I give unto you : not as the world giveth,
give I unto you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid." 1 Those
among you, 'my brethren, whose experi-
ence can bear witness to the peaceful
paths of religion, should be careful to
evince your inward tranquillity by an
exhibition of Christian tempers, disposi-
tions, words and actions ; by works of
love and charity to your neighbors; by
endeavoring to the utmost of your ability
to promote the cause of your Redeemer in
the* world. Thus will you be letting
your light shine, and be preparing your-
selves more and more for that glorious
future not far in the distance, when the
1 Jno. xiv., 27.
5*
50 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II.
cross shall be exchanged for the crown ;
" light afflictions for an eternal weight of
glory"
There is another very interesting class
of whom the blessed Jesus is far from
being unmindful. We allude to those
who are writing bitter things against
themselves, who feel the burden of their
sins to be intolerable, who are seeking
true peace by a diligent use of the
appointed means of grace. Such should
be encouraged to persevere in hope of
obtaining the pearl they so anxiously
desire. Let them listen to Heaven's
inviting voice, addressing their peculiar
state, and dry up their tears. " Gome
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest" 1 " If 'any
man thirst, let him come unto me 'and
drink." 2 While you are laying aside
every weight and the sin that so easily
besets you, continually look unto Jesus.
1 Matt, xi., 28. 2 Jno. vii., 37.
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 51
*
Never lose sight of the cross, the Lamb
of God that taketh away the sins of the
world, for he alone is our peace. Shelter
yourselves under the protection of his
atoning blood, and you shall have peace :
your darkness shall be turned into light,
your mourning into songs of joy.
But in what terms shall we address
that numerous class of our fellow-crea-
tures, who are hewing out to themselves
cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no
water; who are enemies to God, and con-
sequently, utter strangers to true peace.
We might with great propriety utter forth
the terrible threatenings of God's word
against all who persevere in their rebel-
lion against his government. We might
refer you to the many terrible exhibitions
of his wrath upon the impenitent in
former ages, illustrative of the truth,
" that though hand join in hand, the wicked
shall not be unpunished." 1 But we would
1 Prov. xi. ; 22.
52 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II.
I
rather beseech you to be reconciled to
God while as yet mercy may be sought,
and pardon and peace obtained. "Where-
fore do ye spend money for that which is
not oread, and your labor for that which
satisfieth not ? hearken diligently unto me"
saith the Lord. " and eat ye that which is
good, and let your soid delight itself in fat-
ness. Incline your ear, and come unto me ;
hear and your soul shall live." 1
* Isa. lv., 2.
SERMON III.
SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS.
" The elder, unto the well-beloved Gaius whom I Love
in the truth. Beloved, I wish above all things
THAT THOU MAYEST PROSPER AND BE IN HEALTH, EVEN AS
THY SOUL PROSPERETH. FOE. I REJOICED GREATLY WHEN
THE BRETHREN CAME AND TESTIFIED OF THE TRUTH THAT
IS IN THEE, EVEN AS THOU WALKEST IN THE TRUTH."
3 Epis. John 1, 2, 3 vs.
This epistle is addressed to some con-
verted Gentile called Gaius. But as
there are three j)ersons of this name
mentioned in the New Testament, there
is an uncertainty with regard to the one
particularly referred to. There is one
Gaius of Corinth, whom St. Paul calls
his " host, and" the host of u the lohole
Church" 1 There is another named
1 Horn. xvi. 23.
54 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OP GAIUS. [SER. III.
c Gains I a native " of Macedonia" 1 who
accompanied St. Paul, and spent some
time with him at Ephesus. There is
" Gains of Derhe" 2 who also was a fellow-
traveller of the Apostle Paul. It is
supposed, however, that the person here
particularly addressed, was the Gaius
of Corinth, as hospitality was a promi-
nent feature in his character. The
design of the Apostle in writing this
epistle to Gaius, was to commend his
steadfastness in the faith, and the general
hospitality he had shown, especially, to
the ministers of Christ. In carrying
forward this design, he, in the mean
time, rebukes one Diotrephes, who, had
arrogantly assumed the chief direction
in the affairs of the Church. He had
not only refused a kind reception to
those messengers of peace and salvation
himself, but had hindered them from
doing so who were thus disposed. The
1 Acts ; xix. 29. 3 Acts, xx. 4.
SER. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OP GAIUS. 55
Apostle also commends an excellent
person named Demetrius, whom he pro-
posed as a pattern which the whole
church might safely imitate. From the
high commendation here so cordially
given to Gaius, he must have been uni-
versally regarded as a man of eminent
piety, one, who was deeply concerned for
the welfare and prosperity of the Church ;
one who endeavored to the utmost of his
ability to advance the cause of his
Redeemer in the world. It was this
that so greatly endeared him to the
venerable Apostle. Hence he addresses
him with all the tenderness of paternal
affection — " The elder, unto the well-be-
loved Gains ivhom I love in the truth, or
truly love!'
He manifests his sincere love and
regard for him by earnestly praying for
his prosperity, both in a temporal and
spiritual point of view. " / wish above
all things" or with respect to all things,
u that thou mayest prosper and be in health
even as thy sold prosper ell i."
56 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OP GAIUS. [SER. III.
Prayer in its very nature, is an
acknowledgement of our absolute de-
pendance upon God for the blessings we
petition at his hands. St. John, fully
realizing the truth, that " every good
gift, and every perfect gift, is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of
lights," prays that " Gaius might prosper
and be in health." Thus, by his exam-
ple, he inculcates upon us the duty of
cultivating the spirit of dependance upon
God for success in all our endeavors, to
improve either our temporal or spiritual
interests. The worldly-minded habitu-
ally indulge an opposite spirit. They
are wise in their own wisdom, and strong
in their own strength. Hence they
attribute the success and prosperity of
their affairs to their own prudence and
foresight. The folly and danger of this
lofty spirit were aw T fuliy exemplified in
that eventful crisis in the history of
Nebuchadnezzar. While he walked
abroad in his palace, revolving with a
SEK. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 57
secret complacency his grandeur and
magnificence, saying to himself, " Is not
this great Babylon that I have built for the
house of the kingdom, by the might of my
power, and for the honor of my majesty f' 1
While he thus, in the haughtiness of
pride arrogated all the glory to himself;
a voice from heaven declared to him that
his kingdom was departed from him,
that he should be driven from men, and
his dwelling be with the beasts of the
field, until he knew that the Most High
ruled in the kingdoms of men and gave
them to whomsoever he would. This
proud spirit which refuses to acknowledge
its dependance upon the Creator, the
holy scriptures every where assure us is
an object that God abominates : while on
the other hand, the spirit manifested by
the apostle, he highly approbates. " God
resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the
humble." 2
Gaius, in behalf of whom the apostle
1 Dan. iv. 30. 3 Jam. iv., 6.
58 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OP GAIUS. [SER. III.
prays, seems to have been very prosperous
with regard to his spiritual state. This
appears,
1st. From the genuineness of his faith.
It is affirmed that " the truth was in him,
and that he walked in, or according to the
truth." Evangelical faith may be defined
to be, a hearty belief of the truth as it is
in Jesus. It is not a cold speculative
principle, floating in the head without
influencing the heart and life. It is a
living, active principle, regulating the
heart and outward conduct It takes the
Lord at his word. It influences the pos-
sessor to provide against the evil he
threatens, and to pursue with earnestness
and decision the good he promises. For
instance, when God told Noah that the
end of all flesh had come before him, and
that he was about to deluge the earth
with a flood ; Noah's faith in the testi-
mony of God influenced him to provide
against the threatened evil by preparing
an ark for the saving of his house. When
SER. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OP GAIUS. 59
Lot was commanded to leave Sodom,
being informed by unquestionable autho-
rity that the Lord would destroy the city
with its inhabitants ; his faith led him to
flee to the mountain, the divinely ap-
pointed place of refuge. It was this liv-
ing, active faith, that marked the character
of the Christian so highly commended in
the passage under consideration.
It is important to believe all the cardi-
nal doctrines of Christianity, such as the
Divinity of Christ, his vicarious sacrifice,
the necessity of repentance, faith and
obedience ; the doctrines of future rewards
and punishment. But it is not enough
speculatively to believe these truths; it
is indispensable that we have a realizing
sense of the great importance of them in
their personal application ; otherwise, we
shall stand justly charged with having
only the form of godliness while we are
destitute of the power thereof. It was
not thus with the eminent Christian here
proposed as a pattern worthy of imitation.
60 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. fSER. Ill
L
He was deeply sensible of the great neces-
sity of personal holiness. Hence his faith
led him to " renounce the devil and all
his works, the pomps and vanity of this
wicked world," and to present himself at
the throne of heavenly grace, where he
diligently sought and in due time found
"■ that peace which the world cannot give."
And having " the Holy Ghost given unto"
him, all those graces that adorn and
beautify the Christian character, viz.,
virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience,
brotherly-kindness, charity, all these were
manifest in his life and conduct. For it
is further said of him, that,
2. "He walked in the truth." His
course through life was in accordance
with the requisitions of the gospel. He
adorned the gospel of God his Saviour by
a holy walk and chaste conversation —
living soberly, righteously, and godly
amidst a crooked and perverse genera-
tion. Though he could not have regarded
himself as having attained perfection,
SER. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 61
yet, like the apostle Paul, who, "for-
getting those things that are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things that
are before, he pressed toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus."
The bright and shining example set
before the world by this Christian,
afforded grounds of rejoicing to the apos-
tle John. " / rejoiced greatly" says lie,
" wlien the brethren came and testified of
the truth that is in thee, even as thou
walkest in the truth" While it is always
a source of pleasure to a gospel minister
to witness the general health and tem-
poral prosperity of his fellow-Christians,
yet does it afford him more exquisite joy,
when they give a good testimony to the
truth, by their walking as it becomes the
gospel. As there can scarcely be a
greater obstacle in the way of sinners
duly considering the claims of Chris-
tianity, than the loose and irregular lives
of those who professedly say : " Lord, Lord,
6*
62 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III.
and do not the things" that he says ; so,
on the other hand, there is nothing better
calculated, perhaps, to stop the mouths of
gainsayers, to fasten conviction upon the
mind of the ungodly, than the consistent
conduct of religious professors. They are
then as a city set on a hill that cannot be
hid — they evince to all around that reli-
gion is a divine reality, and not a cun-
ningly devised fable.
In the character of Gaius, we see one
who used the world as not abusing it.
He was blessed with all the necessary
comforts and conveniences of life, and
very probably upon the whole, was in a
very prosperous condition as it regards
temporal matters ; as we may learn from
his repeated acts of kindness " to brethren
and strangers." There were many to
" bear witness before the church," of this
praiseworthy trait in his character. His
prosperity in the things of this life did
not, however, prove to him a curse. He
did not suffer the things of this world to
SER. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 68
cheat him out of his soul. He passed
through things temporal, so as riot to lose
those things that are eternal. He labored
"not only for the meat that perisheth,
but for that also which endureth to ever-
lasting life." His soul prospered. The
seed of divine truth sown in his heart,
sprung up and brought forth the fruit of
good living to the honor and glory of
God. He prospered not only with regard
to his present gracious state, but also with
regard to his future prospects. He was
laying up "treasures in heaven where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor
steal." Truly prosperous, indeed ! A
prosperity which nothing on earth can
destroy. We may pass along here for
awhile in the enjoyment of excellent
health of body, but the blighting hand
of sickness sooner or later will pros-
trate the most vigorous constitution. We
come up like a flower, fair and beautiful,
opening and expanding the faculties by
64 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III.
degrees ; but we are soon cut down by the
scythe of some ruthless distemper, or nipt
and withered by the frost of some wasting
weakness and decay. We may prosper
here in the riches of the world, but if
they do not take to themselves wings
and flee away from us, how soon are
we hurried away from them into the
eternal world by the irresistible arm
of death ?. But what can destroy the
prosperity of the soul ? Can sickness ?
No. Can death? St. Paul triumphantly
answers— No. " For I am persuaded"
says he, " that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall he able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord"
Blessed, yea, thrice blessed is the man
whose soul prospers.
But how few comparatively are in this
happy condition. You will all agree with
1 Rom. viii., 38-39.
SER. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 65
me in saying that their souls do not pros-
per, who are in a state of nature, unre-
newed, unsanctified by the influences of
the Holy Spirit. For you are aware that
it is written upon the inspired pages that,
Ci the wrath of Ood abideth upon therm"
They are represented therein, as wan-
derers upon dark and barren mountains
without a shelter and perishing with
hunger. Though by some strange infatua-
tion, they may imagine themselves "rich,
increased in goods and have need of
nothing" they are nevertheless " wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and Mind and
naked."
Nor can it be said of backsliders that
their souls prosper. They may be likened
to a " tree whose fruit withereth." " The
latter end is worse with them than the begin-
ning. For it had been better for them not
to have known the loay of righteousness,
than, after they have known it, to turn
from the holy commandment delivered unto
them. But it has happened unto them
66 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III.
according to the true proverb, The dog is
turned to his own vomit again; and the sow
that ivas ivashed to her loallowing in the
mire." 1 Nor can it be said of the luke-
warm Christian , that his soul prospers.
He is self-condemned. The language of
his agonizing heart is : —
" Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord ?
Where is the soul-refreshing view
Of Jesus and his word ?
What peaceful hours I then enjoy'd,
How sweet their rnem'ry still !
But now I feel an aching void
The world can never fill."
The luke-warm professor is thus ad-
dressed by the great Head of the church :
" / would thou ivert cold or hot, because
thou art luke-warm, and neither cold or hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth." 2
The man of whose soul prosperity can
be truly affirmed, has been created anew
i 2d Pet. ii. ; 21-22. 2 Eev. iii„ 15-16.
SER. III. J SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 67
in Christ Jesus. He advances in the
divine life, and abounds in every good
word and work. He is deeply concerned
not only for his own personal salvation,
but also for the present and eternal well-
being of his fellow-travellers to eternity.
Hence he is found striving to the utmost
of his ability to advance the cause of
Christ among his fellowmen. He is eyes
to the blind, feet to the lame, a messenger
of peace and consolation to the distressed,
whether of mind, body or estate.
We should above all things, my beloved
brethren, see to it that our souls prosper.
It is very proper that we should pray
both for health of body and prosperity in
our daily avocations. It becomes us also
to be diligent in the use of all lawful
means in order to obtain them. God,
however, in his wise and inscrutable pro-
vidence, may not see fit to crown our
efforts in this respect with desired suc-
cess. But in regard to the spiritual
prosperity of the soul, he never fails to
68 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OP GAIUS. [SER. III.
crown persevering diligence with success.
Whoever humbly yields to the life-giving
and fructifying influences of that Holy
Spirit which is to abide with the church
forever, is sure to thrive and prosper,
"like a tree planted by the water side."
Upon the soul the Creator has stamped
his seal of immortality — it is destined
to run parallel with his own uncreated
existence. When our globe shall be dis-
solved, and all that are therein shall be
burned up, the soul, more refined and
dignified, shall survive the dissolution of
matter, and shall either flourish in im-
mortal youth and beauty on the healthful
plains of Paradise, or endure an inde-
scribable burden of anguish in the doleful
regions of endless woe. How invaluable
then is the soul, and how solemnly press-
ing are its claims upon our most serious
regard. Consider what the great Eternal
has done to promote its everlasting health
and vigor. He himself came down from
heaven, veiled his unutterable glories in
SER. III.J SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OP GAIUS. 69
humanity, proclaimed his own everlasting
gospel, led a suffering life, died an igno-
minious death, rose again from the grave,
" ascended up on high, led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men. He gave some
apostles, and some prophets, and some evan-
gelists, and some pastoi*s and teachers' —
" For the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ',' 1 " the Head, from
which all the body by joints and bands
having nourishment ministered, and knit
together, increaseth with the increase of
God." 2 Now, who among us in this view,
does not perceive something of the incal-
culable value of the soul ? For infinite
wisdom does nothing unnecessary. And
seeing that he has been at a vast expense
of means in behalf of our souls, it shows
the awfulness of the peril to which they
are exposed. It. accounts for that solemn
and thrilling question propounded by
himself:—" What shall a man give in
1 Epli. iv. ; 12. 2 Col. ii., 19.
7
70 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OV GAIUS. [SER. III.
exchange for Ms soul?" Nothing can be
compared to it in value. Lose that, and
you lose your all. I beseech you there-
fore to attend earnestly to its high con-
cerns. Beware of unbelief, pride, preju-
dice, envy and malice. These are the
briers that render the soul barren, and
prevent the word of divine truth from
being so ingrafted into the heart as to
bring forth fruit to the honor and glory
of God. Seek diligently the influences
of that Spirit who alone can cause the
native desert of the heart to bud and
blossom as the rose ; and having the
heavenly graces implanted therein by
his own right hand, and abounding in
the same when this painful life shall
end, you may look forward in hope of
being conveyed to that bright world
where the soul no longer clogged in her
devotional exercises by frail humanity,
shall expand and grow more and more
like God through everlasting ages.
r ]
1.3
SERMON IV.
MUTUAL FORBEARANCE AND FORGIVENESS.
" Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another,
if any man have a quarrel against any ; even as
Christ forgave you, so also do ye."- — Col. iii., 13.
In this world, where sin has dominion
over the hearts of the great mass of man-
kind, and influences in some measure the
regenerate, there will always be numerous
occasions that will call for the exercise of
mutual forbearance, and the spirit of for-
giveness. Occasions will arise not only
among the ungodly, but also among
those who, in the general tenor of their
lives, are governed by Christian princi-
ples. To resent injuries, either real or
supposed, is natural to man. The ob-
vious design of this characteristic of our
72 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV.
nature, is to guard us from real injuries.
When we suffer it to proceed no further
than to shield ourselves from real harm,
it is not, as we conceive, criminal. For
instance : — A person endeavors to instil
into the mind of another, principles
known by him to be dangerous in them-
selves, and destructive in their conse-
quences. Now, should a holy indigna-
tion arise in his mind against such prin-
ciples, from the view of their injurious
character, this resentment, so far from
being criminal, would be just, properly
directed, and in strict compliance with
the exhortation of St. James, " Resist the
devil, and lie will flee from you" 1 When
resentment is suffered to go so far as to
injure others merely for the sake of gra-
tifying this feeling, or as a retaliation for
some wrong done, or supposed to be done
to us, then it is highly criminal. In op-
position to this spirit, we are exhorted in
1 James iv'. ; 7.
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 73
the text to cultivate the temper and
spirit of mutual forbearance and forgive-
ness. " Forbearing one another and forgiv-
ing one another, if any man have a quarrel
against any, even as Christ forgave you, so
also do ye"
This exhortation, you perceive, is ad-
dressed to professing Christians. It sup-
poses that the spirit of resentment may be
carried to a criminal extent even among
them, thus giving occasion among them-
selves for the exercise of the conciliatory
temper recommended in the text.
To injure a person, is unlawfully to
take or withhold from him that to which
he has a just claim. To deprive one of
life, liberty, or his personal or real estate,
which he has not forfeited by crime, is
the grossest violation of this principle.
No one, we presume, can consistently
bear the Christian's name, who is guilty
in either of these respects. But there
are other respects in which we may injure
7*
74 ' MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV.
our neighbor, without depriving him of
either his life, liberty or property. We
may injure him by rash and precipitate
judging, by indulging uncharitable thoughts,
and by evil speaking.
1. Rash and precipitate judging.
Perhaps nothing is more common than
for men to form an unfavorable opinion
of their neighbor upon the slightest
acquaintance ; yet, this is equally inju-
rious as it is unjust. To pronounce
unfavorably upon the general character
of a person from some single fault we
may discover, or think we discover, is
certainly injuring him, inasmuch as it is
withholding from him that esteem, which
his other good qualities justly demand,
even suppose him to be faulty in other
respects. For who is there without fault?
Perhaps there are few men so bad, but
that may possess some good traits of
character. Lest we should be misun-
derstood here, it may be necessary to
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 75
observe, that, in speaking of the good
traits in the character of a bad man, all
that we mean is, that they are good in
their effects ; not that they are positively
good in their nature and regarded so in
the sight of God. No action of an
accountable being can be intrinsically
good, good in the sight of our Maker,
that does not proceed from a proper
motive, a due sense of our obligations to
Him. The high and holy principle that
should govern us in our actions is thus
stated by the great apostle to the Gen-
tiles : — " Whether, therefore, ye eat or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God." l The same apostle, show-
ing how indispensable it is that we should
have a constant regard to this holy prin-
ciple, also says : — "Though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor, and though I give my
body to be burned, and have not charity, it
profiteth me nothing." 2 The loth Article
»1 Cor. x. ; 31. ■ 2 2 Cor. xiii., 3.
76 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV.
of our church is in perfect accordance
with this statement of St. Paul. " Works
done before the grace of Christ, and the
inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant
to God, forasmuch as they spring not
of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they
make men meet to receive grace, or (as the
school authors say,) deserve grace of con-
gruity : yea, rather, for that they are not
done as God has willed and commanded
them to be done, we doubt not but they
have the nature of sin." So, in this view,
nothing done by an impenitent man can be
really good. In another point of view he
may, however, do something that may be
called good, from the good effects result-
ing therefrom. A liberal contribution,
for instance, may be cheerfully given to
some educational institution, or for reli-
gious purposes. This may be the means
of promoting the present and eternal
happiness of thousands of our race. An
unregenerate person may do this, and
other kindred acts, and in view of their
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 77
beneficial effects, they may in a qualified
sense, be denominated good. The point
however to which we would arrive, is
this : — If unregenerate men may have
some commendable traits in their charac-
ter, how much more ground is there to
regard those in a favorable light, who are
in some good degree, renewed by the
Spirit ? So, for Christians to pronounce
unfavorably upon the general character
of their brethren, simply on the ground
of some fault they may discover, or think
they discover, is to injure them seriously.
It is to withhold from them that affec-
tionate regard which their other good
qualities justly demand. Persons who
are given to this uncharitable turn,
require but little evidence; indeed, what
they require, is undeserving the name of
evidence; all they require, in order to
bring their minds to a decision upon the
general character of their neighbor, is
only to see, or think they see, in him
some slight deviation from their precon-
78 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV.
ceived notions of propriety. Should his
peculiar manner, or mode of address not
happen to be in strict accordance with
their ideas of refinement, immediately,
an unfavorable inference is drawn with
regard to his taste. Should an opinion
be expressed on a certain subject, though
that opinion should not be the result of
much deliberation, but expressed at the
impulse of the moment, no allowance
whatever is made for this ; a broad
inference is at once made, utterly preju-
dicial to the whole character. Again,
should a professor of religion, in an
unguarded hour, manifest undue warmth
of feeling, why, he is denounced at once
as a hypocrite, utterly destitute of every
spark of vital piety. Such imperfections
as these, give a sufficient warrant to the
uncharitable, to cast a shade over the
whole character. How common is this
spirit of rash and precipitate judging
of others exhibited, not only among the
ungodly,, but among the professed fol-
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 79
lowers of Christ. But what is more
unequitable and unjust? How far is this
from complying with that golden rule : —
" Whatsoever ye would that men should do
to you, do ye even so to them" l
Furthermore, this rash and precipitate
judging, leads,
2. To the indulging of unkind, cold
and bitter feelings. Our feelings in every
instance, are regulated by our belief. To
this general statement, I reckon there
can be found no exception. In all cases,
our feelings correspond with our belief.
Hence a child, believing the testimony of
others, concerning the venomous nature
of a viper, indulges a secret antipathy
towards it, though he may never have
seen anything more of the reptile than its
picture. It is needless to enumerate in-
stances to illustrate so plain a principle of
our nature. It must be admitted by all
who will reflect for a moment, that as we
1 Matt. vii., 12.
80 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV.
believe, so do we feel and act. Here we
are disposed to digress a little, in order
to make a useful reflection. We 'would
observe, that Christianity is in strict
accordance with the laws of our nature.
Are we so constituted, that we feel and
act as we believe ? See then how Chris-
tianity is adapted to this law of our
moral nature, attaching as it does, so
much importance to faith in God.
u Without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for he that cometh to God, must believe that
He is, and that He is a reivarder of them that
diligently seek Him" 1 " Therefore, being
justified by faith, we have peace with God,
through our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 As
faith, or belief, produces corresponding
feelings or actions in temporal matters,
so has it the same effect in spiritual
things. And how clearly does the wis-
dom and goodness of God shine forth in
this view of the Christian system. His
wisdom, in appointing faith as airinstru-
1 Hebrews, xi. ; 6. 2 Rom. v., 1.
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. % 81
ment in our salvation, it being from its
active nature, every way calculated to
produce the desired effect, viz., obedience.
His goodness is seen in adapting his
saving plan to the constitution of our
nature, thus rendering our salvation
attainable in perfect harmony with the
law of our moral being. But to return
to the inference that we were about to
make. As we feel and act as we believe,
so, when a rash and precipitate judgment
is formed, with regard to the general
character of our brother, we, as a natural
consequence, feel and act towards him
accordingly ; unless we be deceitful —
uttering smooth words with the lips,
while there is war in the heart. Do we
believe him to be a time-serving, popu-
larity seeking creature, unstable, driven
and tossed about by every wind, no mat-
ter from what point it blows ? Now, if
we have come to this conclusion concern-
ing his character, and have any just
views of what is praiseworthy in man, it
82 -MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV.
is impossible to esteem, or to place any
confidence in such an one. If we have,
from some cause, been led to regard a
professor of religion as a hypocrite, and
have just views of what is becoming the
Christian, so far from cherishing in our
bosom, sentiments of esteem for his cha-
racter, we w T ill behold him in all his
religious performances with pain and
disgust. We mention these instances,
as specimens of unkind feelings following
in the train of unfavorable opinions
formed of our fellow-men. Having
arrived at an unfavorable decision with
regard to the character of our brother,
and unkind and bitter feelings being now
generated in the heart, the next step is
to proceed.
3. To evil speaking. — This naturally fol-
lows. When unkind feelings are indulged
towards any of our brethren, it will soon
be made manifest by unkind words.
" Oat of the abundance of the heart" says
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 83
our Lord, " the mouth speaketli." 1 The
faults uncharitably conceived of our
neighbor, are now ungenerously exposed;
exposed, too, while he has no opportunity
of explaining, or of defending himself, for
it is now done in his absence. These faults
are exposed, not to secure themselves
from injury, but to injure their neighbor,
to lower the esteem that others may
have towards him, and thus gratify that
malignant spirit which is far below the
Christian character. The tongue now is
set in operation, • and when that is the
case, soon a great fire is kindled from
a little matter. The tale-bearer now has
his legitimate work to do. He listens
attentively, occasionally smiles, with his
ears wide open as he smiles, and when
he gets as much as he can conveniently
carry, he shoulders his burden, away he
goes and lodges it at his neighbor's door.
By adding a little, and saying with a sig-
nificant nod, — I would not take it if I
1 Matt, xii., 34.
84 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV.
were you, lie succeeds in kindling a blaze.
Families, neighbors, and intimate com-
panions, are now at variance, indulging
the spirit of revenge, hatred and malice,
for, they can scarcely tell what. And
were the true cause ascertained, it
would in most instances be found to
have originated from a wrong judgment
rashly formed ; from some word inad-
vertently spoken, or some action in the
performance of which, there was no evil
design whatever. Now, it is in these
ways that we may injure, and be injured
by others ; and our duty as Christians,
is, on all occasions to be ready to exer-
cise the spirit of mutual forbearance and
forgiveness. "Forbearing one another, and
forgiving one another, if any man have a
quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave
you, so also do ye."
We proceed to a few considerations
that should induce us to cultivate this
spirit.
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 85
1. We should recollect how apt we
are to be mistaken in our judgment of
the general character of a person even
after a patient observation, much more
so upon a slight and single circumstance.
Joseph was reared under the same roof
with his brothers; they, therefore, had
a fair opportunity to investigate his
character ; jet, see how grossly mistaken
they were respecting it. Because he
related to them his remarkable dream,
that "the sun, moon, and stars, made
obeisance to him" they regarded him as
an ambitious youth, who desired to
exalt himself over them. To arrive at
a correct decision at all times with
regard to the character of our neighbor,
requires more knowledge than God has
granted to man. Are we fully acquainted
with the constitutional make of any indi-
vidual ? Do we know his peculiar turn
of thinking? Can we dive down into
the depth of his soul, and see the first
moving spring of action, and pronounce
8*
86 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV.
with infallible certainty with respect to
its moral character? Do we know the
precise effect that early impressions have
had upon his mind, and exactly to what
extent allowance is to be made on this
score ? Our profound ignorance in all
these particulars, shows how apt we are
to be mistaken in our notions of the true
character of our neighbor, and should
lead us in no case to judge rashly. And
should we, after a cool, patient, and
impartial investigation, be compelled to
decide unfavorably, we should even then,
pass a decision with extreme diffidence —
with that " charity that believeth all things,
hopeth all things." In many instances, no
doubt, where the uncharitable has cast a
shade of reproach, could he see the whole
man as he is seen by his supreme Judge ;
shame would cover his face, to find that
the very person he thought so little of,
was at the very same time far above him
in moral excellence.
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS, 87
2. As we are apt to be mistaken In
our judgment with regard to the general
character of persons, so are we equally so
with regard to their evil intentions. An
offence is taken from something that has
been said or done to us. Now what has
been said or done, may not have been
the result of either ill-will or malice. It
may have been the result of a wrong
judgment they had hastily formed, or
from some excited state of mind they
may have been led to say, or act as they
did. Such considerations should have a
tendency to cool our resentment, espe-
cially when we reflect that we are
equally liable to be influenced in the
same way. And besides, they may have
seriously considered their conduct, and
have mourned and wept bitterly in secret
on account of it.
Another reason why Christians should
cultivate a forgiving spirit, is — ■
3. God's forgiving mercy towards them.
88 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV.
All of us have offended our Creator, by
violating his law in thought, word and
deed, ten thousand times. We have of-
fended him under circumstances the most
aggravated, against light and knowledge,
amidst all the loud calls of his providence,
his word, the strivings of his Spirit, and
the clamors of conscience. We have
thus rendered ourselves obnoxious to his
wrath and sore displeasure ; but upon
repentance, he manifested to you his
forgiving mercy. When he saw you
writing bitter things against yourselves,
mourning in sackcloth and ashes, he ap-
pointed unto you the oil of joy for
mourning, and the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness. And shall we
who have been forgiven, and daily stand
in • need of forgiveness, not be ready to
forgive others ? If the eternal God act
in the same way, what will become of
us ? Remember the words of our blessed
Lord : — " If ye forgive not men their tres-
passes, neither will your Father forgive
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 89
your trespasses" 1 As we desire forgiveness
at the hands of our heavenly Father, let
us see to it that we cultivate the spirit of
forgiveness towards our brethren.
How are we to forgive ?
To this, the apostle answers in the lat-
ter clause of the text, " As Christ forgave
you, so also do ye."
How does he forgive?
1. He forgives universally. His lan-
guage is — " Thy sins which are many, are
forgiven" 2 We should imitate Christ in
this respect. We should make no re-
serves, but forgive all and every one of
our brother's offences against us.
2. Christ sincerely forgives ;■ — He never
upbraids us for those sins he once forgives.
He blots out the hand-writing against us.
He remembers our sins against us no
more. There is a pretended forgiveness
that falls from the lips only, without
1 Matt. vi., 15. * Luke vi i <; 47^ 48o
90 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV.
flowing from the heart. You may have
frequently heard persons profess to for-
give in terms like the following. I par-
don him for what he has done to me ; I
only wish the poor creature may be able
to forgive himself. I leave him to God
and his own conscience. Now this disco-
vers a want of sincerity, and shows an
inward bitterness of spirit, utterly at
variance with a forgiving temper. This
is not the w r ay that Christ forgives : — He
forgives sincerely. " Let this mind be in
you which was also in Christ Jesus.'"
How amiable and benign is the spirit
of Christianity ! Like its divine author?
its high mission is to promote true peace,
good order and happiness among men. In
what a glorious state would be our world,
were it entirely under its holy influence.
Earth then, would be but the counterpart
of heaven. If all cultivated the spirit of
forbearance and forgiveness, where there
is now strife, contentions, animosities and
revenge, the angel of peace, with his
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 91
celestial train of meekness, gentleness,
brotherly kindness and charity, would
reign predominant in every bosom. But
alas ! how little of this spirit is found
among men ; how little even among the
professed followers of Christ. What a
readiness to put the worst construction
upon the actions of the brethren. How
prevalent is whispering, tale-bearing, and
evil-speaking. What a satanic-like plea-
sure there is taken in circulating the tale
of slander to the great injury of our
neighbor.
My brethren, these things ought not so
to be. You are called to the cultivation of
an opposite temper, by the most endear-
ing considerations. As children of one
family you reverently bow down at the
same table, partake of the same bread,
drink of the same cup, and profess to be
travelling to the same eternal home. In
that blissful place, you expect to unite
with all the redeemed of the Lord, in the
same song : — " Unto him that loved us and
92 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE. [SER. IV.
washed us from our sins in his own blood,
and hath made us kings and 'priests unto
God and his Father, to Him be glory and
dominion forever and ever" 1 How rea-
sonable therefore is it that you should
cherish for each other on your journey
thitherward, the same feelings of bro-
therly kindness. " Forbearing one ano-
ther, and forgiving one another, if any
man have a quarrel against arty, even as
Christ forgave you, so also do ye"
1 Rev. i. ; 5.
SERMON V . .
THE SIN" OF GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT.
" AND GRIEVE NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD." Eph. iv. 30.
Grief, as well as all other affections of
the human heart which we find applied
in the Scriptures to the Spirit of God,
must necessarily be understood in a meta-
phorical sense. It especially refers to his
mode of acting towards those who resist
his influences, reject his kind offers, and
not to any inward feeling which the term
implies when it relates to finite man.
With the course generally pursued by one
who from just cause has been grieved at
the conduct of another, we are perfectly
familiar. Between this course and the
conduct of the Spirit towards man in cer-
tain cases a comparison is here instituted.
9
94 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V.
When an earthly friend and benefactor
becomes grieved in consequence of receiv-
ing from his beneficiary insults in return
for the many favors bestowed, he with-
draws all intimacy and friendship from
such an one, until the barriers that stand
in the way of a reconciliation are entirely
removed. Now, the Holy Spirit is the
Almighty Friend and liberal Benefactor
of our fallen and degenerate race. But
man too often requites his surpassing
kindness and benevolence by acting in a
way that causes the blessed Spirit to
withdraw his enlightening and renovating
influences, leaving him in his own native
blindness and ignorance, to pursue the
" way that seemeth right" unto him, though
the " ways thereof" be the " ivays of death."
We are therefore to understand the text
as containing a solemn admonition against
every thing that would hinder the success
of this divine agent in his gracious and
renewing operations upon the soul.
The Spirit of God, the third person in
SER. V.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 95
the ever-adorable Trinity, is called c lioly]
because of the infinite holiness of his
character, and of the work of holiness
which he begins and carries on in the
hearts of his people. All the moral attri-
butes; justice, goodness and truth, are
possessed by him in common with the
Father and the Son, in unbounded per-
fection. In the economy of redenrption,
the Holy Spirit is the grand agent whose
office is to establish these principles of
holiness in the souls of men. In order to
this, " he spake by the prophets," inspired
the apostles from whose sacred writings
we may obtain right conceptions of the
character of God, and of his will concern-
ing us. He is still present in his church,
to own and bless his word, and the ordi-
nances of his house to the spiritual edifi-
cation of all who yield to his gracious
dictates. His success, however, is far from
being universal. Though we have every
reason to believe from the infinitude of
his benevolence, that there is not a human
96 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V.
being on earth at the door of whose heart
he has not repeatedly knocked for en-
trance ; yet we find only here and there
a few, comparatively, who have cordially
submitted to the empire of his grace.
The generality of men oppose him at
every avenue through which he is wont
to gain the ascendancy in the soul, and
thus cause him, so to speak, to turn away
grieved at the obduracy and impenitency
of their hearts. I am sure that I now
speak the experience of many of our
hearers. In order that you may through
the divine blessing be brought to a due
sense of the awful guilt you are incurring,
and of the danger to which you are thus
exposing yourselves, we shall endeavor to
point out some of the ways in which men
' grieve the Holy Spirit of God!
This is done,
1. By inconsideration. The want of
calm, sober thought, is one of the greatest
hinderances to a sinner's conversion to God.
SER. V.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 97
The thunders of Sinai may roll, and tell
him of those eternal calamities that await
the ungodly beyond the grave ; the sweet
notes of redeeming love poured forth from
an angel's voice will all be in vain, so
long as the adversary of souls can contrive
to keep him from a train of regular, sober
thinking. The great Jehovah thus com-
plained of his ancient people. "/ have
nourished and brought up children, and
they have rebelled against me. The ox
Jcnoiveth his owner, and the ass his master's
crib: but Israel doth not know my people
doth not consider." 1 The same complaint
may be justly entered now. Against
every impenitent soul here in divine pre-
sence, the Holy Spirit may justly urge
the want of due consideration, as the
great reason why his holy influences have
not hitherto had their designed effect in
each case. God has made our salvation
to depend upon a cordial and hearty be-
lief of the truth as it is in Jesus. " With
a Isa. i.,2 ; 3.
9*
98 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V.
the heart man believeth unto righteousness , ." 1
But we cannot thus believe the truth, unless
we understand, or realize it in its personal
application : nor can we thus understand
it when presented to our minds unless we
bestow upon it due thought and reflection.
Thus you perceive how the thoughtless
sinner defeats, if we may so speak, the
purposes of divine grace. When the
Holy Spirit presents to the impenitent
mind divine truth, when he shows him
his own character, his depraved and sinful
state and the awful consequences that
will inevitably follow, when he discovers
unto him the character of God, his holi-
ness, justice and truth, instead of his
dwelling upon these truths in serious,
sober and penitential thought, they are
excluded from the mind to make room
for subjects of a frivolous nature. So, the
Heavenly Visitor is thus grieved and
insulted at the cold repulse: — " go thy
1 Eora. x., 10.
SER. V.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 99
ioay for this time ; when I have a convenient
season I will call for thee" 1
The Holy Spirit is grieved,
2. By unholy conversation. The cha-
racter of our minds give in general a
direction to the train of our conversation.
Hence we may form a very good judg-
ment of the cast of our mind if we strictly
observe the character of the conversation
in which we take the greatest delight.
" Out of the abundance of the heart" says
our Lord, " the mouth speaheth." 2 Of the
wicked it is said that, " God is not in cdl
his thoughts." 3 Now so long as the incon-
siderate man continues so, and will not
with divine assistance use the power that
he has to bring his mind back from its
wanderings and lead it in the path of
serious, sober thinking, we cannot expect
him to delight in such a conversation of
which the Holy Spirit would approve.
His thoughts run in a channel, that is
1 Acts xsiv., 25. 2 Matt, xii., 34. 3 Psa. x. ; 4.
100 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V.
"earthly, sensual and devilish." The
conversation in which he delights, must
consequently partake of the same cha-
racter. How then can the Holy Spirit
be otherwise than grieved to behold the
tongues of men so much employed about
temporal subjects, as totally to exclude
those that are spiritual and eternal; —
those subjects which excite the most
adoring wonder and rapturous songs of
joy among the redeemed in glory. But
upon this point, we need not confine our
remarks exclusively to the impenitent
part of our hearers. Professing Christians
are far from being faultless here. Indeed,
the apostle Paul in giving the admonition
contained in the text, evidently had his
Christian brethren at Ephesus chiefly in
view. In the words that immediately
precede the text, he addressed them
thus: — " Let no corrupt communication
proceed out of your mouth, hut that which
is good, to the use of edifying, that it may
minister grace to the hearers." The text
SER. V.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 101
then follows. — " And grieve not the Holy
Sj)irit of God" „ .
The rule laid down in this connexion
whereby Christians may avoid grieving
the Spirit, is to attend to the preceding
caution. But alas ! how seldom is this
rule attended to by professing Christians
in their intercourse with each other.
They may not violate the first part of
the rule. Their conversation may not
be of that character as to deserve to be
styled, "corrupt communication" But do
they not often violate the second part ?
When they meet together, is the commu-
nication that proceeds out of their mouth
good to the use of edifying? Is there no
foolish talking and jesting which are not
convenient ? Is there no unkind and
unnecessary exposures made of the real
or supposed faults of neighbors ? Is there
no backbiting, no evil-speaking and slan-
dering ? Happy for the cause of religion
were it so. But the reverse is too often
the case. Instead of adhering to the
102 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V.
direction of the Apostle, aiming to edify
those present, there is too often a dispo-
sition shown to inflict an injury upon the
absent. And seeing this is the case, it is
no wonder that we behold so many dwarfs
in Christianity. It is no wonder that
some run well for a season the Christian
race, grow weary, turn back and bring a
reproach upon the cause. You need
wonder no longer, inconsistent professor,
why you have no comfortable sense of
God's love, no delight in the sanctuary,
no relish for meditating on God's law,
and attending on the ordinances of his
house. You have grieved the Spirit of
grace, and caused him to withdraw from
you his comforting influences. When you
have learned to " speak good of the name
of the Lord, to be talking of his worship,
glory, praise and wondrous works ; to be
telling of his loving kindness early in the
morning, and of his truth in the night
season ;" then, may you expect him to
lift upon you the light of his countenance,
SER. V.] 1HE HOLY SPIRIT. 103
and to bless you with light, life and vigor.
On the contrary, if other matters of a
vain, foolish and reprehensible character,
are permitted to be themes to expatiate
upon in your social intercourse; depend
upon it a leanness will come over your
souls ; you will become like Samson shorn
of his strength, weak as other men : your
enemies will put out your eyes, leaving
you to grope your way in the darkness of
spiritual death. Again, the Spirit of God
is grieved —
3. By sinful tempers and affections.
In the verse that •immediately follows the
text, St. Paul thus exhorts his brethren :
c iLet all bitterness and wrath, and anger
and clamor, c£nd evil-speaking, he put away
from you with all malice" It is much to
be lamented that these evil affections
prevail too much among professing Chris-
tians in the present day. From the
slightest provocation received from hu-
man frailty, some will rave and toss
104 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V.
themselves like an ox unaccustomed to
the yoke. They consider it too much
to be borne : and very often they dwell
upon these little matters until the poison
of the adder is found under their lips.
Then the very name of their supposed
adversary cannot be mentioned without
eliciting the serpent hiss. And by in-
dulging this revengeful spirit for a time,
it finally settles down in malice, a rooted
enmity, which makes a man more like
Lucifer than any other sin this side of
perdition. And can the Holy Spirit dwell
in a bosom that is indulging affections
like these ? No, never. He can look with
delight only upon his own 'fruit] which
u is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentle-
ness, goodness, faith, meekness,- temperance." 1
Sinful tempers and affections are the
works of the devil. These works, the
Spirit of God in all his merciful and
gracious visits to man, aims to destroy.
Resolve then, my Christian friends, in
» Gal. v., 22.
SER. V.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 105
the strength of divine grace, to resist and
overcome these enemies to your peace.
Christianity designs us to be of an excel-
lent spirit ; to be transformed by the
renewing of our minds : to be " peaceable,
gentle, easy to he entreated, full of mercy
and good fruits." 1 By exhibiting an oppo-
site spirit we dishonor the cause of Christ,
and consequently grieve the Spirit whose
grand object is to advance it throughout
the earth. We have mentioned several
instances in which we may grieve the
Spirit; but we may add in a general way
that he is grieved by every species of sin,
whether it consists in doing the things
we ought not to do, or in leaving undone
those things which we ought to do. We
are all therefore guilty in this matter,
and have need daily to pray : il God,
make clean our hearts within us; And
take not thy Holy Spirit from us."
We shall endeavor now by a few con-
siderations.
1 James iii. ; 17.
10
106 THE SIN OP GRIEVING [SER. V.
Second, To urge the admonition con-
tained in the text.
1. Consider the great dignity of the
Personage slighted. In the violation of the
rules of civility among men, the degree
of criminality is determined by the cha-
racter of the persons. Hence the same
act that would be termed simply an
insult from one man towards his equal in
station, would be called a great indignity
towards his superior, say his Governor.
This arises from the inequality of position
that subsists between the parties. Now if
the degree of guilt contracted by grieving
the Spirit, is determined by his superior
dignity, where shall we find a term that
can give us an adequate idea of the
crime ? The Spirit of God fills immen-
sity. And where is the mind that can,
in its grandest and loftiest conceptions,
fully comprehend this great truth ? Such
knowledge is too high, too wonderful, it
cannot be attained. This the enraptured
SER. V.] THE HOLY SrJRIT. 107
psalmist confessed, when, in the sublimest
language he exclaimed : — w Whither shall
I go from thy Spirit ? or whither shall I
flee from thy presence ? If I ascend up
into heaven, thou art there; if I make my
bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I
take the toings of the morning, and dwell in
the uttermost parts of the sea, even there
shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand
shall hold me." 1 This uncreated, eternal,
omnipotent, and omnipresent Being, man,
dying man, whose breath is in his nos-
trils, can dare to insult ! What horrid
impiety ! Consider,
2. His patience with you, notwith-
standing your repeated provocations.
When an earthly friend considers himself
to be insulted, he generally stands off in
cold indifference towards you, until some
due acknowledgment be made ; and
even then his friendship is very apt to be
mixed with a little bitterness. But the
1 Psa. cxxxix., 7, 8 ; 9.
108 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V.
Spirit of God, though repeatedly grieved,
as often returns. He comes unasked,
and stands at the door, and knocks long
and loud, entreating us to open the door,
that he may come in and sup with us,
and we with him. Oh ! how aggravated
the guilt that must be contracted by a
continued opposition to such stupendous
love as this. But remember that God has
said : — " My Spirit shall not always strive
with man." 1 There is an " accepted time,
a day of salvation" 2 in which we may
seek and find mercy at the hand of God
through Christ. That time, however, and
that day may pass, when the things that
belong to our peace may be forever hid
from our eyes. By a long and continued
series of opposition to the Spirit's in-
fluences, the mind may at last become so
hardened in unbelief, so unsusceptible of
any permanent religious impression, by
the ordinary means of grace, (and we
have no right to expect any other means)
1 Gen. vi. ; 3. 2 2 Cor. vi., 2.
SER. V.J THE HOLY SPIRIT. 109
as to cause the Holy Dove to take its
everlasting flight. Forty years was he
grieved at the disobedience of ancient Is-
rael, and said — " They do alway err in
their hearts, and they have not known my
ways. So I sivare in my wrath, they shall
not enter into my rest." 1 Take warning,
then, my brethren, from this example,
lest you fall under the same awful con-
demnation. That you have repeatedly
opposed the friendly counsels, warnings
and entreaties of the Spirit, you cannot
deny. He has often called you to par-
take of the waters of life, and you have
as often refused to hear; he has stretched
out his hand to deliver you from the
snares of the devil, but you have disre-
garded his kind intervention. Still he
waits to be gracious unto you, notwith-
standing your past ingratitude and innu-
merable provocations. Though, your sins
be as scarlet, He is ready and willing to
make them as white as snow. Let his
1 Hebrews, iii., 10, 11.
10*
110 GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT. [SER. V.
long-suffering, goodness, and love, lead
you to that repentance that needeth not
be repented of again. Prostrate as you
should be at the footstool of mercy, while
you are acknowledging your repeated
insults to the heavenly visitor, let your
sincere, fervent and persevering prayer
ascend to the Lord, whose ear is ever
attentive ; and let its burden be —
" Stay, thou insulted Spirit, stay,
Though I have done thee such despite ;
Nor cast the sinner quite away,
Nor take thine everlasting flight.
Though I have most unfaithful been,
And long in vain thy grace received )
Ten thousand times thy goodness seen,
Ten thousand times thy goodness grieved ;
Yet, oh ! the mourning sinner spare,
In honor of my great High-Priest.
Nor in thy righteous anger swear,
T'exclude me from thy people's rest.
My soul lies humbled in the dust,
And owns thy dreadful sentence just;
Look down, Lord, with pitying eye
And save the soul condemn' d to die."
SERMON V.I.
THE FORBEARANCE AND RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
OF GOD.
" The lord is slow to anger, and great in power,
AND WILL NOT AT ALL ACQUIT THE WICKED." Nahum. i. 3.
In our attempts to worship the God of
heaven, it is highly important that we
entertain, as far as possible, just concep-
tions of the divine character; lest, while
we profess to worship Him with our lips,
we at the same time, be open to the
rebuke : " Ye luorsliip^ ye hnow not ivJiat"
We are summoned to the house of prayer
at this time, under circumstances of
unusual interest. It has been recom-
mended by the Chief Magistrate, that
this day be devoted by the people
throughout the country to prayer and
fasting. And perhaps, there is no view
112 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI.
of the character of God more proper for
the mind to be duly impressed with on
an occasion like the present, than the
one contained in the text — his forbearing
mercy, in connexion with his power and
justice.
That Jehovah, whose perfections are un-
limited, should at any time, in the smallest
degree imaginable, be agitated, or dis-
turbed by any inward emotion like mortal
man, is impossible. Passion is an attri-
bute that belongs exclusively to imperfect
beings, who require some moving principle
to excite them to action. But no such
necessity can be supposed to exist in the
great I AM, without involving the most
blasphemous absurdity. Hence, those
portions of scripture that ascribe anger,
wrath, jealousy, or any other passion, to
the Deity, are always to be understood
in a figurative, not in a literal sense. In
every case, it refers to his mode of pro-
ceeding, or acting, and not to any inward
emotion. As men, when provoked to
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OE GOD 113
anger, generally take steps to avenge
themselves upon their enemies, so, when
God executes the sentence of His right-
eous laws upon the rebels against His
government, He is said to be avenged,
not that He, like man, takes a malignant
pleasure in the destruction of His enemies,
but He is said to be avenged, because in
such a case, His mode of procedure
resembles the steps that men take when
they are under the influence of anger.
With these preliminary remarks, we
shall enter upon the consideration of the
several propositions contained in the text
in the order in which they are presented.
First :— " The Lord is slow to anger."
That is, He is slow to execute punish-
ment upon the transgressors of His law.
We have a striking illustration of the
truth of this proposition.
1. In the case of our fore-parents.
That eventful period, when they per-
114 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI.
petrated the crime that brought death
into the world and all our woe, in that
very hour. Jehovah could in justice have
banished them from the happy bowers of
Paradise, and consigned them to the
region of eternal misery and despair. It
was thus He dealt with Lucifer and his
rebellious crew. " And the angels which
kept not their first estate, hut left their own
habitation, lie hath reserved in everlasting
chains, under darkness, unto the judgment
of the great day'' 1 But instead of dealing
thus with our fallen progenitors, he
granted them a day of grace — he gave
them a firm ground of hope in that
cheering and comprehensive promise :
" I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed ;
it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt
bruise his heel!' 2 That they had sufficient
time granted to avail themselves, as we
believe they did, of that gracious pro-
mise, is clear, from Adam's protracted
1 Jude 6. 2 Gen. iii. ; 15.
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 115
term of life, which was extended beyond
the limit of nine hundred years. The
same penitence, faith and obedience, that
marked the character of Abel, when he
offered " a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain," were without doubt, equally prom-
inent in our fore-parents, when " God
made coats of skins and clothed them."
It is not without good reason supposed,
that this clothing was the skins of beasts
slain in sacrifice by divine appoint-
ment, as typical of the one great sacrifice
of Christ, who, in the fulness of time,
" gave himself a ransom for all."
2. Another illustration of the truth that
God is slow to anger, we have in the
case of the Antediluvians. They had
not only multiplied greatly in point of
numbers, but their sins and iniquities
also had increased to an alarming extent.
" The wickedness of man was great in the
earthy every imagination of the thoughts of
116 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI.
his heart was only evil continually." 1
Being thus corrupt at the very fountain,
it followed as a natural consequence, that
" the earth was filled with violence through
them." 2 But what was the conduct of
God towards that guilty people ? He
mercifully warned them of the awful
consequence of their overgrown wicked-
ness by his servant Noah, who was " a
preacher of righteousness" to that devoted
people. He strove with them by his
Holy Spirit. He bore with their bad
manners ; he waited for their reforma-
tion for the space of one hundred and
twenty years, before he performed " his
act j his strange act"
3. The same slowness to anger marked
the conduct of God towards his chosen
people Israel. They were under his
special guidance, government and protec-
tion : they were favored above all other
nations with the means of religious in-
1 Gen. vi., 5. 2 Gen. vi., 13.
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 117
struction, temporal security and prospe-
rity. They were " nourished and brought
up as children." When they groaned
under the Egyptian yoke, God delivered
them with a high hand and with an out-
stretched arm. When they travelled
through the dry and barren desert where
no water was, he caused streams to flow
from the flinty rock to refresh their faint-
ing spirits. He rained down manna from
heaven to relieve them from the pains of
hunger. But notwithstanding they en-
joyed such distinguished privileges and
blessings at the hand of God, they were
far from bringing forth those fruits of
purity and good living which might have
been reasonably expected. There were,
it is true, some honorable exceptions ;
but the general character given them in
the holy scriptures, is that of " a rebel-
lious and stiff-necked people," — they were
bent on backsliding — ever ready to depart
from their Almighty Sovereign and Friend,
and to conform to the abominable prac-
11
118 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI.
tices and customs of the surrounding
heathen. But did He speedily give them
up to work out their own destruction with
greediness ? No. He bore with them for
upwards of fifteen hundred years after
he had delivered them out of the land of
Egypt and out of the house of bondage.
Moreover, when they had well nigh filled
up the cup of their iniquity in rejecting
the only Savior of sinful man, still, the
Lord forbore to visit them according to
the demerit of their crimes. The axe it
is true, was lying at the root of the tree ;
but he did not speedily issue forth the
order, — cut it down — its day of salvation
was protracted a little longer. Accord-
ingly, the blessed Savior, after his resur-
rection from the dead, in commissioning
his Apostles to spread the glad tidings of
mercy universally, instructed them, espe-
cially, to begin at Jerusalem — to give the
first offer of salvation to them who had
crucified the Lord of life and glory.
Thus the history of that peculiar people
SEE VI.] EETEIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 119
clearly illustrates the truth that the Lord
is slow to anger.
Again. The character of the Gentiles,
contrasted with God's - conduct towards
them, is a further confirmation of the
first proposition of the text. A very
startling, but graphic picture of their
wretchedly depraved character is drawn
by the Apostle Paul in the opening
of his masterly epistle to the Romans.
" Being filled" says he, " with all unright-
eousness >, fornication, wickedness, covetous-
ness, maliciousness ; full of envy, murder,
debate, deceit, malignity ; whisperers, back-
biters, haters of God, despiteful, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient
to parents, iviihout understanding ; covenant
breakers, without natural affection, impla-
cable, unmerciful : who knowing the judg-
ment of God, that they which commit such
things are worthy of death, not only do the
same, but have pleasure in them that do
them" 1 Here then, we have the moral
^om.j., 29, 32.
120 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI.
portraiture of the Gentiles, as it presented
itself to the mind of the inspired Apostle.
Yet we find that they were not swept off
the face of the earth as with a besom of
destruction. The same Apostle says, —
u And the times of this ignorance God
winked at" 1 i. e. He bore with them in
mercy, in order to give them a clear and
explicit call to repentance. But we need
not confine your attention to facts of
ancient date, since we have a sufficient
illustration of the truth under considera-
tion, in our own day and time. See, how
the Lord's day is profaned ; -the day conse-
crated to holiness and God is devoted by
multitudes, young and old, to idleness,
frivolity and sinful pleasures. How many
acts of inhumanity, cruelty, oppression,
high-handed robbery, murder, treachery,
and lewdness, are every day practised
amidst the blaze of moral and religious
light. These things are of so frequent
occurrence, that they almost cease to
1 Acts xvii. ; 30.
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 121
affect us. See the multiplied groggeries,
gambling cellars and dens of infamy
which are thronged, not only by the old
and hardened in crime, but thronged by
the young men of our city, whose down-
ward course is blasting the best hopes of
their parents and friends. Oh ! were it
possible for us to take a panoramic view
of all the abominations committed here
during the space of twenty-four hours
onlv, we should be overwhelmed at the
sight : we should be ready to regard our-
selves as dwelling among incarnate demons
instead of human, intelligent, and moral
beings. Horror-stricken at the sight, we
would tremble under the most agonizing
apprehensions, lest the earth would not
long sustain such a mass of guilt, pollution
and crime. Now, we should bear in
mind, that the Supreme Ruler of the
Universe, surveys with one comprehen-
sive glance, not only all the crimes of a
single nation, but of the world at large.
He has a clear and distinct view of every
11*
122 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI.
species of wickedness that is now, or ever
has been committed. Yet we behold his
sun rising upon the just, and upon the
unjust, we have the regular return of the
seasons : " He gives us ram from heaven and
fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food
and gladness." Why is this ? Since the
wickedness of man is still great in the
earth, why do we not see the vials of
unmitigated wrath, poured out upon its
guilty inhabitants? Why do we not
see the heavens gathering blackness and
the red thunderbolt hurled down in
flaming vengeance ? To these inquiries
unassisted reason can give no satisfactory
answers. To see virtue, humanity, truth
and justice lying prostrate upon the earth,
while vice, cruelty and gross injustice
receive honor and support, would be to us
an incomprehensible mystery, were it not
for the revelation of the truth contained
in the text, that, the Lord is slow to anger.
This truth will receive further confirma-
tion from its application to our own indi-
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 123
vidual cases. There is not one among
us arriven to years of maturity, who upon
a review of his life can fail to see the
clearest evidences in his own case of the
truth contained in the first part of our
text. Let conscience speak, and she will
w^hisper in the ears of some thus. You
are now well-stricken in years ; you were
born in a Christian land ; you have heard
the sound of salvation ten thousand times,
but alas ! you cannot find in all your
life one single day truly devoted to the
service of that God in whom you live,
move, and have your being, and who has
made every provision for your present
and everlasting happiness. To another
she would say, in the spring-tide of life
you sought the Lord and found him to the
joy and satisfaction of your soul; but
suffering yourself to be drawn aside by
your giddy companions, and through the
deceitfulness of your own heart, you be-
came entangled again in the yoke of
bondage ; you crucified afresh the Lord of
124 THE FORBEARANCE AND fSER. VI.
glory ; put him to open shame ; and now,
you are ten-fold more the child of Satan
than before. To us all she would bring
home the charge, of having too often
" done the things which we ought not to
have done, and" of having "left undone
those things which we ought to have
done." But notwithstanding this, our
lots are still among the living and not
with the dead. So far from having any
visible marks of divine vengeance upon
us, we are still prisoners of hope, within
the reach of mercy, having the privilege
of partaking of the blessings of pardon,
peace and holiness in this world, as pre-
paratory for the enjoyment of eternal
happiness in the world to come. Breth-
ren, we all stand this day living witnesses
that the Lord is slow to anger.
Second. This attribute of God is no
evidence of his want of ability to execute
upon transgressors the sentence of his vio-
lated law, for the prophet further adds that
He is 'great in power? Men may be
iSER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 125
sometimes slow in effecting their purposes,
because they are unable to accomplish
their ends with despatch. No such ina-
bility belongs to Jehovah. What can
stay his hand, who, " in the beginning
created the heaven- and the earth — who
spake and it was done ; who commanded,
and it stood fast." Indeed, his slowness
to anger, or long-forbearance, is perhaps,
the greatest proof of his power that we
can have any conception of. In contem-
plating the magnitude, the number and
velocity of the planets, we are justly
struck with amazement at the great
power that upholds and sustains them.
But what comparison can there be between
the power that is put forth in the mate-
rial system, and that which is manifested
in his long-forbearance towards sinners.
The former is power over matter, the
latter is power over his own uncreated
Being. The exhibition of monstrosity in
wickedness, arouses at once the indigna-
tion of men, and nothing but the want of
12G THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI.
authority and power prevent them in such
cases, from visiting it with summary
punishment. But this is an evidence of
our weakness. God "is of purer eyes
than to behold iniquity— Heaven is im-
pure in his sight." Yet he is cognizant
of the great mass of human crime, but
strikes not. His own inflexible justice
and truth call for vengeance against the
transgressors; but his long-forbearance,
holds back the bolt. Here lies the "thun-
der of his power' 1 which is beyond human
comprehension.
Again, nor does his slowness to anger
afford any security to the finally impeni-
tent ; for it is farther added that
He "will not at all acquit the wicked."
Though he bear long w x ith sinners, yet
retributive justice will overtake them at
last. The fate of several nations as well
as individuals may be adduced as illus-
trative of this. The ante-diluvians, the,
Sodomites, the Egyptians, the Ninevites,
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF- GOD. 127
the Jews, all stand upon the historian's
page, as indisputable evidences of the
truth that He will not at all acquit the
finally impenitent. Now, as nations can
exist as such in this world only, and as
God is unchangeably the same, when
they become involved in national guilt,
nothing but a timely repentance can
avert a national punishment. Avarice,
pride and ambition might be expatiated
upon as sins of which this nation stands
guilty before God; but the great master
sin of the nation is, that of sanctioning
that system of outrage, which allows man
to hold property in his fellow-man, the
system, that blots out the moral image
traced upon the soul by the hand of God,
and writes thereupon — ' it is a thing! It
requires no labored attempt to show that
the nation is verily guilty in this matter.
In whatever department we look, whe-
ther legislative, literary, civil or religious,
we find in the general spirit and conduct
of each, a determined opposition to the
128 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI.
universal rights of man. And what
marks do we observe of true repentance ?
Is there a general concern upon the sub-
ject? Are the people awakened to a
sense of their awful guilt? Are they
bringing forth fruit meet for repentance ?
Are they like Zaccheus restoring four-fold
to their wronged neighbors? Far from
it, far from it. The great absorbing theme
dwelt upon from one end of the country
to the other is gain. The obligation " to
do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with God" is not taken into the account.
Here a general apathy prevails. It is
certainly a very imposing sight to behold
an entire people, as at this day, present-
ing themselves before God in the attitude
of humble suppliants. Prayer and fasting
are some of the signs of penitence, and
when accompanied with the other marks,
viz., the forsaking of evil, and the prac-
tising of good works, they are well-
pleasing to God; otherwise they are of
no avail. When the Ninevites under a
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 129
dread of God's judgments clothed them-
selves in sack-cloth, and cried mightily to
God, it is said ; that, " God saw their
works, that they turned from their evil way ;
and God repented of the evil that he had said
that he ivould do unto them, and he did it
not." 1 But what does the Lord say to his
people when they had given up themselves
to unrighteousness, and still offered to
Him a formal worship. u To what pur-
pose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto
me ? saith the Lord : When ye come to
appear before me, who hath required this at
your hand to tread my courts ? Bring no
more vain oblations : incense is an abomina-
tion unto me ; the new moons and sabbaths,
the calling of assemblies, I cannot away
with : it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
And when ye spread forth your hands I will
hide mine eyes from you ; yea, when ye
make many prayers I will not hear" and
the reason he assigns is : u your hands are
full of blood" Hence the exhortation;
1 Jonah iii., 10.
12 %
130 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI.
" Wash you, make you clean ; put away the
evil of your doings from before mine eyes ;
cease to do evil, learn to do well, seek judg-
ment; relieve the oppressed ; judge the
fatherless; plead for the widow." 1 The
point upon which their happiness or
misery depended is thus stated. " If ye
be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good
of the land. Bui if ye refuse and rebel, ye
shall be devoured by the sivord : for the
mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 2 This
threatening was signally executed upon
the Jewish nation in the terrible slaughter
which took place when their proud city
was besieged by the Roman army under
Titus. And it awfully exemplified the
inspired declaration : u Righteousness ex-
alteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any
people"* With regard to the impenitent,
as individuals, though in this world they
find by experience that " the ivay of trans-
gressors is hard :" yet the full measure of
1 Isa. i., 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17
£ Isa. i., 19, 20. 3 Prov. xiv., 34-
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 131
their punishment will not be meted out to
them until the final judgment. Then God
u will render to every man according to his
deeds." 1 u Unto tliem that are contentious and
do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteous-
ness ; indignation and wrath, tribulation
and anguish upon every soul of man that
doeth evil." 2 Be awakened then, my
impenitent hearers, to a sense of your
danger. Let God's patience with you
lead to a timely repentance. This is the
gracious design Heaven has in view, in
bearing with your bad manners from day
to day and from year to year. He is
slow to anger under all your provocations,
in order that you may be suitably affected,
and so be led to repentance and salvation.
Abuse not his mercy by hardening your
hearts and stiffening your necks. Think
not that because sentence against an evil
work is not executed speedily, you will
therefore escape punishment. The arm
Rom. ii., 6. Rom. ii. ; 8.
132 THE FORBEARANCE, AC. [SER. VI.
of Divine Justice may be long delaj^ed,
yet it will fall at last upon your guilty
head with accumulated vengeance. And
who can endure the idea of falling into
the prunitive hands of Him who is omni-
potent in power ! May you avert this,
by a timely repentance, by an unreserved
dedication of yourselves to His service.
Then, his power, justice and mercy will
combine to ensure your present and ever-
lasting happiness.
SERMON VII.
PRICE IN HAND OF THE FOOLISH TO GET
WISDOM.
" Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to
get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it ?"
Prov. xvii. 16.
Wisdom is a gem of inestimable value.
Nothing so strongly marks the superiority
of one class of men above another, than
their pre-eminence in wisdom. For the
various arts of civilized life, the innu-
merable comforts and conveniences we
enjoy, to which the native children of
the forest are entire strangers; we are
indebted to the operations of superior
wisdom. It guides the mariner across
the pathless waste of waters, and leads
him back over mountain billows safe to
12*
134 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII.
his own kindred and home laden with
the riches of foreign climes. It scours
the surface of our globe, investigates the
numerous vegetables of the verdant king-
dom ; marks their genera, their species,
their different properties, their agencies,
especially in arresting the ravages of dis-
ease to which man is liable in this state
of discipline and trial. It penetrates the
bowels of the earth and explores the won-
ders and riches of the mineral kingdom.
It mounts up to heaven ; up, at a dizzy
height, and there observes the circuitous
pathway of the planets, and with its vast
line measures them as they roll along in
the wide expanse. The order and regu-
larity that obtain among men flow from
this source. We sometimes see different
nations involved in angry disputes, and
led to the very point of bringing about all
the horrors of a desolating war. Fortu-
nately, however, superior wisdom in due
season rises up in her majesty and makes
her voice heard above the " sound of many
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 135
waters "—the tumultuous murmurs of the
people are at once hushed : and the hos-
tile spirit with its menacing array of the
weapons of death, gives place to the
pleasing spectacle of harmony, fraternity,
peace, and their ever-attendant blessings.
In this limited view of wisdom's opera-
tions, all are ready to acknowledge its
paramount value and excellency. But
the Holy Scriptures speak of, and the
text alludes to, a wisdom of a much
higher order still.
Job, in a figurative style common among
the orientals, inquires where man's highest
wisdom is to be found : and having searched
in vain through every department of na-
ture, he at length arrived at the true and
only fountain. u But where shall wisdom
he found ? and where is the place of under-
standing ? Man knoiveth not the price thereof;
neither is it found in the land of the living.
The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea
saithy It is not in me. It cannot he gotten
136 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII.
for gold, neither shall silver he weighed for
the price thereof. It cannot he valued loith
the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx,
or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal
cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall
not he for jewels of fine gold. No mention
shall he made of coral, or of pearls : for the
price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz
of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall
it he valued with pure gold. Whence then
cometh wisdom ? and where is the place of
finder standing ? Seeing it is hid from the
eyes of all living, and kept close from the
fowls of the air. Destruction and death
say, We have heard the fame thereof with
our ears. Qod under standeth the way there-
of, and he knoweth the place thereof For
he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth
under the whole heaven. To make the iceight
for the winds ; and he weigheth the waters
by measure. When he made a decree for
the rain, and a way for the lightning of the
thunder. Then did he see it, and declare
it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 137
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of
the Lord, that is wisdom ; and to depart
from evil is understanding." 1 Thus we
perceive that the revelation God made
to man in the beginning, in which con-
sists his highest wisdom, is, " the fear of
the Lord."
There is a servile dread of God, arising
from a sense of guilt and the awful desert
of sin, which sometimes so harasses the
impenitent, as to cause them to agonize
under awful forebodings of coming wrath.
But the principle referred to in the text,
is a holy, reverential fear of offending
the Divine Majesty, and a tender concern
to please him in all our w r alks and ways.
It includes the whole of practical obedi-
ence to the commands of God. Good
old " Noah moved with" this holy " fear"
when in prompt obedience to the com-
mand of his Maker, he " prepared an ark
to the saving of his house." 2 This holy
1 Job xxviii., 12-28. s Heb. xi., 7.
138 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII.
principle can never spring from unre-
newed nature. It is, " the wisdom that is
from above" and, " is first pure, then peace-
able, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of
mercy and good fruits, without partiality,
and without hypocrisy T l
Whoever takes the hand of this
heavenly guide, and follows her direc-
tions, shall pass safely through the
perilous voyage of life, laden, not with
corruptible treasures ; but, w r ith the
riches of Christ and his gospel, and
arrive at home, home to heaven, where
they shall unite with kindred spirits in
celebrating the praises of God and the
Lamb forever and ever. This wisdom,
in her ethereal flights, stops not among
the rolling orbs of the planetary world.
She mounts up infinitely higher. Her
native place is in the palace of the King
of Saints and angels. Thither she
ascends, and unfolds to the eye of faith,
the glorious reward of righteousness : —
1 Jam. iii., 17.
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 139
heavenly mansions — everlasting joys —
" the crown of righteousness, ivhich the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give at that day,
unto all them that love his appearing" 1
To be destitute of this heavenly wis-
dom, and unconcerned about obtaining
it, however wise we may be as it respects
things that pertain to this life, we are in
the eye of God's Word, regarded as
"fools? This is indeed, a mortifying
epithet, but let us see whether it be not
very properly applied to all those who
" have not the fear of God before their eyes?
If idleness, if a neglect to improve the
proper season to labor, if a want of fore-
thought to lay up provision for future
necessities, be marks of folly in a tem-
poral sense ; then, the man who has the
great work of his personal salvation
before him, and spends all his time in
matters of minor importance ; who
neglects, in " the accepted time" to pro-
* 2d Tim. iv. ; 8.
140 PRICE IN HAND OP THE [SER. VII.
vide himself with that robe of righteous-
ness, in which he " may appear pure and
blameless at the coming of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ;" he, who thus acts,
may very properly regard himself as
being superlatively foolish.
What a numerous multitude among
our fellow-men show themselves to be
deserving of this opprobrious epithet.
There is not a city, town, or village, but
what is crowded with them. Thev make
up the great mass of mankind. Hence,
the world may be compared to a bedlam.
The number of our fellow-creatures
deserving to bear this epithet being so
vast, it will not be a matter of wonder,
if a goodly number be found enclosed
within these sacred walls. We cannot
be fairly charged with a want of charity
in thinking, that a little honest and sober
reflection on the part of some of our
hearers, would constrain them to class
themselves with the number. There is
such a thing as partial insanity. A
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 141
crazy man may converse quite rationally
upon certain topics ; but, so soon as you
approach some particular subject, he
reasons no longer. Thus it is with man.
Place before him his temporal interests,
and he acts like a reasonable being.
Bend his mind upon the various sciences,
and the deep researches of his reasoning
powers, demonstrate his near relation to
superior beings. But lay before him the
all-important subject of religion, and
immediately you perceive the change.
However eminent he may be as a
scholar, a statesman, a philosopher ;
however wise and prudent he may be
in his affairs as a farmer, mechanic or
merchant, with regard to ' the one tiling
needful] he gives little, or no signs of
reason. Some are totally unconcerned
about the things that belong to their
present and everlasting peace. Others
have a feeble sense of the importance of
this subject, but put off the due con-
sideration of it to a more convenient
13
142 PRICE IN HAND OE THE [SER. VII.
season. Another class, with more ener-
getic folly than the former, make the
attempt to serve both God and Mammon
— to give half the heart to the Lord, the
other half to the world. Others again,
merely put on the garb of religion, the
form of godliness, while they are destitute
of its life and power. In this way, the
great majority of mankind are acting as
it relates to their spiritual and eternal
welfare. Man thus suffers his precious
moments to pass away unimproved, till,
alas ! in an hour when he thinks not
death comes : " he giveth up the ghost, and
where is he f' 1 Is this a rational mode of
acting ? What would be thought of any
set of persons who acted thus, when they
had some great temporal interest ,at
stake, in danger of losing all their pro-
perty by fire ? If the most of them were
seen to be totally unconcerned ; others
putting off their exertions to save their
effects, to a more convenient season ;
1 Job xiv., 10.
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 143
others using one hand to secure their all ;
and others merely putting on the appear-
ance of concern ; would they not be
regarded as insane persons ? But how
much more foolish do they appear, who
act thus, in relation to their present and
eternal welfare. A man may lose his
earthly goods, but in the course of time,
by industry, frugality and economy, he
may succeed in accumulating an equiva-
lent to all his losses. But when the soul
is lost, all is lost — the joys of heaven
once lost, are lost forever — the soul that
descends to the dismal regions of despair,
shall never be cheered by the glad sound
of salvation. How egregious then, is the
folly of ungodly men ! If their folly was
unavoidable, they would be excusable.
For no one can be fairly blamed for
unavoidable ignorance. But this is not
the case. For their folly, they alone are
to blame.
144 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII.
The text says —
" Theee is a price in the hand of a
fool to get wisdom."
By this we are to understand, that the
means to obtain wisdom, through the
benevolence of God, are placed in our
hands. We have reason, conscience, the
holy scriptures, the ordinances of God's
house, the preaching of the gospel, the
aids of the Holy Spirit, liberty of access
to God through Christ, by prayer and
supplication ; we have pious parents, re-
lations, friends, or good books to assist
us. Here then is a price, a talent, or
rather, talents of inestimable value placed
into our hands to obtain wisdom; and
by persevering in the right use of these
means, we cannot fail to attain it. St.
James says, — " If any of you lack wisdom,
let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and wpbraideth not ; and it shall
be given him. But let him ask in faith, no-
thing wavering. For he that wavereth is
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 145
like a wave of the sea driven with the wind
and tossed. For let not that man think
that he shall receive anything of the Lord" 1
But with all these advantages in their
hands to become wise unto salvation, it
is a melancholy fact, that too many of
our race remain foolish notwithstanding.
The ungodly are wont to frame many
excuses for their folly in continuing in
their wretched state. They are all so
frivolous in their character, that it is
needless to detail. But whatever excuses
they may frame to account for their not
being truly wise, in the text, the grand
reason is declared to be, that they have
"no heart to it." " Wherefore is there a
price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom,
seeing he hath no heart to it ?" That is, he
has no sincere desire to obtain it. He
will not be at the pains of considering
long upon its nature, hence its transcend-
ant excellencies are hid from his view.
James i., 5 ; 7.
13*
146 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VIT.
And seeing no beauty in it, he has no
ardent desires after it. His desires are
strong for the perishable objects of time
and sense. He can ardently exclaim : —
" What shall ive eat? or What shall we
drink? or Wherewithal shall toe be
clothed?" 1 " But none saith, "where is God
my maker, who giveth so?igs in the night. m
Since ungodly men, with all the facili-
ties kind Providence has given them to
be wise, continue wretchedly foolish not-
withstanding, the wise man enquires, —
Wherefore is it that they have these ad-
vantages? The question implies, that
these means of wisdom are unworthily
placed, — that they are of no essential
benefit to the possessor. Hence, he says,
Wherefore is this ? u Wherefore is there a
price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom,
seeing he hath no heart to it?"
We may answer, that this price is
given —
1 Matt, vi., 31. 2 Job xxxv., 10.
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 147
1st. As a clear demonstration of the
proposition, that God taketh " no pleasure
in the death of the wicked, hut that the
wicked turn from his way and live" 1 u I
exhort" says St. Paul, u that supplications,
prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks
he made for all men. For this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour,
ivho will have all men to he saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth" 2 " God
so loved, the world" said our Saviour, " that
he gave his only hegotten Son, that ivhosoever
helieveth in him should not perish, hut have
everlasting life" 3 As a confirmation of the
glorious truths here announced, God has
graciously placed into the hand of every
man ample means, which if rightly used,
will compass his present and everlasting
happiness. So the great Father of us all,
may utter now the same vehement com-
plaint of every ungodly impenitent sinner,
as he did with regard to the base ingrati-
1 Ezek. xxxiii., 11. 2 1 Tim. ii. , 13, 4. 3 John iii., 16.
148 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII.
tude of his people of old — " What could
have been done more to my vineyard, that I
have not done in it?" 1 Furthermore, the
"price" is placed into the hand of every
man.
2d. That in the great day of account
the finally impenitent shall not be able to
show any reason why the sentence of
condemnation should not be passed upon
them for their neglect of improving it.
In the parable of the talents the servant
who had one, offered as an excuse for
not improving it, his knowledge of the
severity of his Lord ; "reaping where" he
had "not sown, and gathering where" he
had "not strazved" 2 But he thus con-
demned himself. And his Lord showed
him, that the very excuse he offered,
was a more urgent reason why he should
have improved the talent intrusted to his
charge. Hence he was struck dumb :
stripped of every extenuating plea — forced
1 Isaiah v., 4. 3 Matt, xxv , 26.
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 149
tacitly to acknowledge the sentence : —
" Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer
darkness;" to be the just demerit of his
consummate folly. Thus will it be in
the last great day with all who shall
be found destitute of heavenly wisdom.
When all the golden opportunities they
suffered to pass away unimproved; the
many glorious privileges neglected ; the
repeated calls and entreaties of God's
providence, word and Spirit that have
been slighted; when all these are brought
to their remembrance; while the Judge
is pronouncing the sentence, "Depart ye
cursed" they will be constrained in inex-
pressible agony to say, Amen, to their
own condemnation. And what a bitter
ingredient will this be in that cup of
indignation, which shall be their portion
forever and ever — self-condemnation —
forever exclaiming, I have destroyed
myself !
See the importance then, my hearers,
150 . PRICE IN HAND OP THE [SER. VII.
of duly improving the 'price that God in
his goodness has placed into your hands
to get wisdom. You are stewards of the
manifold grace of God. And the day is
at hand, when you will be called to stand
at his dread tribunal, to render a strict
account of your stewardship. You are
surrounded with every necessary facility
to enable you to make your peace with
God, your calling and election sure.
Through the providence of God your lot
has been cast, not amidst the darkness of
Paganism, superstition and idolatry, but
in a Christian land, under the moral
influences of Christian sabbaths, religious
counsel and example. You have the
Bible in your hand, that blessed book,
which is u a lantern unto our feet, and a
light unto our path" which informs us of
the great love of our heavenly Father in
giving his u Son to die for our offences,
and to be raised again for our justifica-
tion," and his Holy Spirit to enlighten,
renew and sanctify our depraved nature.
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 151
Now if you fail to bring forth the fruit
of righteousness, after having all these
superior privileges and blessings at hand,
how tremendous must be the punishment
that awaits you in the eternal world !
How can ye escape wrath to the utter-
most?
I beseech you, let not the grace of God
be granted you in vain. Avoid the doom
of the wicked and slothful servant. In
all your getting, get wisdom. Continue
no longer under the shameful reproach of
having u no heart to it" Seek after it, for
it is better than rubies, and all the things
that may be desired are not to be com-
pared to it. Seek it diligently and per-
severingly. For "if thou seekest her as
silver, and searchest for her as for hid
treasures, then shalt thou understand the
fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge
of God." And what " thy hand findeth
to do" on this great subject, " do it with
thy mighty for there is no work, nor device,
nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave
whither thou goest"
SERMON VIII
THE SHORTNESS AND UNCERTAINTY OF TIME.
"But this I say brethren, the time is short."
1 Cor. vii., 29.
The sentiment contained in the words
of the text, is one of those solemn truths
which the mind of man is averse duly to
contemplate. Some airy phantom, some
earthly vanity, is always cordially invited
to a prominent place in his thoughts,
while this serious truth is banished from
the mind as an unwelcome guest. The
promise of enjoying yet many days of
health, ease and pleasure here, though it
be a lie conjured up by a corrupt and
deceitful imagination, is listened to by the
worldling with delight; while the truth,
which reason, observation and divine
14
154 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII.
revelation confirm, is practically rejected.
But however averse we may be to give
this subject that due consideration which
its importance demands, its truthfulness
nevertheless, remains the same. Our in-
difference to it cannot alter it. It becomes
us, therefore, as rational and accountable
beings, calmly, but seriously to consider,
how short the time is that w r e have to
remain upon the stage of action. And
may the Holy Spirit help us so to con-
sider it, that we may be led to apply our
hearts unto heavenly wisdom.
" The time is short" Compared w T ith
that eternal duration which is without
beginning or end; time, in its most ex-
tended sense, stretching out its line from
the dawn of creation to the final consum-
mation of all things, is short. For though
our planet should continue its diurnal and
annual revolution a thousand times longer
than it has already, a period is to arrive,
when its present career through its ap-
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 155
pointed pathway will be terminated —
w^hen " it shall wax old as doth a garment,
and he changed." Bat, eternity, properly
speaking, has neither beginning nor end.
There can be no proportion, therefore,
between the longest duration of time and
that of eternity. But it becomes us to
contemplate that portion of time which is
parcelled out to us as individuals, by the
Author and giver of life. And how ex-
ceedingly small is the part allotted us.
In the Adamic age, the life of man was
reckoned up by hundreds. Adam, the
father of the human race, lived nine hun-
dred and thirty years before he died.
Seth, his son, lived nine hundred and
twelve years, and he died. Enos, his
grand-son, lived nine hundred and five
years, and he died : and so the catalogue
proceeds in its statement of the length-
ened lives of the patriarchs who lived
before the flood. But in the time of the
Psalmist David, we find human life to be
reckoned up not by hundreds as before,
156 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII.
but by scores. " The days of our years,"
says he, " are three-score years and ten, and
if by reason of strength they be four-score
years, yet is their strength labour and sor-
row, for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." 1
As if years were too large a point by which
to reckon up the shortness of human life,
the Scriptures count it by months. " The
number of his months are with thee." 2 Very
frequently it is reckoned by days. " Man,
that is bom of a woman" says Job, "is of
few days." 3 Nay, it is accounted but one
day. " Till he shall accomplish as an hire-
ling his day." 4 The apostle Paul, com-
pares it to a still shorter period — a mo-
ment. " Our light affliction" says he,
"which is but for a moment." 5 So short is
human life, as if there could not be any
thing in nature to give a just representa-
tion of it, the Psalmist says, — " Mine age
is as nothing before thee." 6 A very slight
1 Psa. xc, 10. 3 Job xiv. ; 5.
3 Job xiv., 1. 4 Job xiv., 6.
5 2 Cor. iv., 17. 6 Psa. xxxix., 5.
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 157
observation will lead us to acknowledge
the justness of this melancholy view of
human life. If we look over this congre-
gation, or any other assembled for a simi-
lar purpose; if we take a larger survey,
and view the community in which we
live, how few comparatively do we see
whose heads are crowned with the frost
of seventy winters. We behold only a
few here and there moving along the
shore of time, as relics of days gone by;
and their fewness are as monuments bear-
ing our text as an inscription, to be read
and seriously pondered by every beholder.
The silent but significant language of
their whitened locks and furrowed cheeks,
to the present generation, is, " Brethren,
the time is short." — It is true that we
have reached our three-score years and
ten, but this point in human existence,
the great majority of our race never
attain. The large circle of those with
whom we passed the blithesome hours of
youth, have long since shot the awful
14*
158 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII.
gulf of a boundless eternity. A few of
us stand trembling upon the shore, to ad-
monish you with a silent but impressive
voice, how vain it is for you to calculate
upon attaining the days of our lengthened
years. For long, long before man reaches
this, he enters the narrow house appointed
for all living. The most of our fellow
creatures die like a flower blasted in the
morning, or at noon, a fact, that shows
how delusive is the hope of a protracted
life. Another point worthy of our con-
sideration is, that tirrte is as uncertain as
it is short. The present moment is all
that we can safely calculate upon. The
future is veiled in the bosom of the great
Eternal. He only knows whether or not
any one present shall survive the setting
sun. We know not what a day may
bring forth. Neither youth nor superior
strength is the least security against the
sudden attack of death. His shafts fly
so promiscuously, that none can tell who
will be the next victim. Sudden as
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 159
lightning sometimes his arrows fly, and
wound and kill in the twinkling of an
eye. Before another day rolls over our
heads, for all that we know to the con-
trary, some one of us may behold that
veil removed which now hides from our
view, the grand, but awful scenes of the
eternal world.
The short and uncertain tenure of
human life would be of small moment
were it not connected with other results
of the most solemn and overwhelming
character. God, in his great wisdom and
goodness saw fit to create different ranks
and orders of beings, and to place them
in different localities in his wide domin-
ions, to answer certain good purposes.
Upon our earth we behold a variety of
living creatures, some of which, so far as
we know, have no relation at all to another
state of being — all their movements are
confined within the small circle of time
here allotted to them. But man is placed
in circumstances quite different. He, like
160 THE SHORTNESS AND [SEE. VIII.
the other creatures, has but a small space
of time to carry on his operations here,
but his movements are not confined, like
theirs, within the little boundary marked
out to him in this world. No. His do-
minion over the rest of the creatures, his
superior skill, his boundless desires, his
hopes, his fears, all more than intimate
that he has within him a spirit, destined
to survive this material system, and that
his future happiness or misery will depend
upon the character formed in this state
of mortality. These solemn and over-
whelming truths, indicated by the light
of reason, are set forth in the brightness
of a sun-beam upon the inspired page.
We are there told not only that life is
short, that " it is appointed unto men once
to die" but we are also told that " after this
the judgment" 1 — that " God will render to
every man according to his deeds, — to them
who by patient continuance in well-doing,
seek for glory, honor, immortality, eternal
1 Hebrews, ix. ; 27.
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 161
life" while on the other hand, " unto them
that are contentious, and do not obey the
truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon
every soid that doeih evil" 1 These con-
siderations, brethren, stamp upon our
time an incalculable value, connected as
it is with our eternal destinies. We may
contemplate the shortness of life as an
abstract truth, somewhat unmoved. But
it becomes us to consider it as connected
with its thrilling results — we should ever
bear in mind that our few days here below
will tell whether we shall be happy for-
ever in heaven, or forever miserable in
hell. This is the sober view in which
we should always regard this subject;
this is the view in which the Apostle
regarded it when he lifted up his voice
and pronounced with such solemn empha-
sis, saying, — " But this I say, brethren, the
time is short"
1 Horn, ii., 6 ; 7, 8, 9.
162 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII.
Let us inquire now, what influence this
subject should have upon our life and con-
duct. Should the thought, that in a few
days we shall be in the world of spirits,
have the effect of filling our minds with
superstitious dread, and of imbittering
our whole lives with the fearful apprehen-
sion of death ? No. This course would
have the tendency of rendering our lives
still shorter, and would be contrary to
sound reason, and contrary to God's ex-
press command : — " Thou shalt not kill."
Again, because our days are few, should
we therefore leave all converse with our
fellow-men, seclude ourselves in some re-
tired cell, and there spend our time in
mortifying the body for the good of the
soul ? This would be a superstitious ab-
surdity, but no part of Christian duty.
Utter seclusion from the world is nowhere
enjoined. The Bible addresses us as mem-
bers of society, and enjoins upon each in
his vocation and calling to serve the Lord
faithfully — " to glorify God in body and
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 163
spirit which are his." The godly are
represented therein, as the light of the
world. And they are called upon in all
their relations, whether domestic, civil or
religious, to let their light shine, that
others seeing their good works may be
led to glorify their Father in heaven. In
the words that immediately follow the
text, the apostle clearly shows what effect
the sentiment therein contained should
have upon us: "But this I say, brethren,
the time is short. It remaineth therefore,
that they that have wives be as though they
had none, and they that weep as though they
wept not, and they that rejoice as though
they rejoiced not, and they that buy as though
they possessed not, and they that use this
loorld as not abusing it, for the fashion of
this world passeth away."
We learn from this subject, the impor-
tance of setting a proper estimate on
all earthly things — of regarding them as
they really are, fleeting and swiftly pass-
164 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII.
ing away. We may lawfully enjoy, yet
we should always endeavor to preserve
ourselves from immoderate attachment to
the most endearing objects. We should
sit loose from the world, and be found
cultivating that pious frame of mind
that will enable us in cheerful submission
to take our departure whenever a wise
and gracious Providence shall call us so to
do. Such a temper as this will keep the
mind properly balanced. With its affec-
tions set on things above and not on
things on the earth, it will not be puffed
up with the joys, nor cast down by the
sorrows of earth. If, with such a tem-
per, the Christian be in trouble, sorrow,
need, sickness, or any other adversity,
possessing natural sensibilities, he may
weep. But knowing that all his troubles
and adversities will soon end in the
tomb, he weeps as though he wept not.
Does the sun of prosperity shine upon
his path ? He rejoices as he should, and
gives thanks to the Author of every
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OP TIME. 165
good and perfect gift. But being duly
sensible of the transitory and changing
nature of all earthly things — knowing
that the clearest morning sky may be
overcast with clouds long before the noon,
he tempers all his earthly joys with
godly fear. This is the noble temper
with which the apostle designed to in-
spire his brethren at Corinth— a kind of
independence of all temporal things. —
Not despising the good things of the
world, but putting a due estimate upon
them, using them in their proper place —
not seeking happiness in them, but in the
only living and true God. This is the tem-
per that becomes us as dying men diligent-
ly to cultivate. With our hearts thus aloof
from earth, our conversation in heaven,
when the time of our departure is at
hand, we shall be kept in perfect peace,
and enabled to pass through the valley
and shadow of death, fearing no evil.
We may then in the triumphant lan-
guage of St. Paul, exclaim — u I have
15
166 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII.
fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith : henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteous-
ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
shall give me at that day : and not to me
only, hut unto all them also that love his ap-
pearing." 1 But on the other hand, if we
suffer our minds to linger here with fond
attachment to the things of earth, we
shall be lifted up by its joys, and thrown
down by its sorrows ; and when we are
called to die, having devoted all our at-
tention to the things of time, the soul
will be forced away into eternity, with a
weight of unrepented sins that must
inevitably sink it into endless perdition.
For, " except a man be born of water and
of the Spirit," our Lord declares that " he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 2
He can neither be admitted into the
kingdom of grace here, nor participate in
the ineffable glories of his kingdom here-
after. As it is not in man to desire
1 2d Tim. iv., 7, 8. 2 St. Jno. iii., 5.
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 167
misery — all would like at last, after they
have shook off this mortal coil, to escape
the damnation of hell, and enter upon an
endless career of happiness in heaven.
But this cannot be, there must be a pre-
vious fitness, a preparation in order to
participate in the happiness of the saints
in light. Otherwise, heaven itself would
be a hell. The imperfect happiness that
falls to the lot of mortals here on earth,
flows from congeniality of mind, sentiment
and affection. And the same law pre-
vails among the society of the blessed.
The inhabitants of that glorious region
are all holy — they have one common cen-
tre of attraction — they all harmonize in
adoring, worshipping, and praising Him
who is God over all blessed forever.
Place an unholy being in sight of the
tree of life that is in the midst of the
Paradise of God, and of those fountains
of living waters to which the redeemed
of the Lord are led, and let him hear
that great multitude which no man can
168 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII.
number, and all the angels that burn
around the throne, let him hear them
in full chorus sing : — " Blessing and
glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving,
and honor, and power, and might be unto
our God forever and ever f so far would
he be from participating in the general
joy, that his misery would be increased.
He would turn away with a look of malig-
nant envy and deep despair, exclaiming —
" Which way I fly is hell,
Myself am hell."
The hope therefore that may be enter-
tained by the ungodly, of finally sharing
in the blessedness of heaven, is sure to
meet with an awfully sad disappointment.
u If we sow to the flesh, we shall of the flesh
reap corruption, hut if we sow to the Spirit,
we shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting?
And this work of sowing to the Spirit,
must be attended to in the proper season.
You have a day in which you may labour
with success. But it is only a day — a
day swiftly passing away. why should
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 169
we be grovelling here, seeing that we
shall so soon be called away to try the
realities of the eternal world? Does it
not become us to be up and doing the
work of our soul's salvation while it is
called, to day ? This is the great lesson
that a mysterious Providence is enforcing
upon us by the awful plague* that is now
sweeping off the race by hundreds, both
in this and in other countries. God now
impressively calls upon men "to consider
their ways," " to do justly, love mercy,
and to walk humbly before him." Short-
sighted indeed must he be who has failed
to observe the growing disposition to cast
off the fear of God, the wholesome re-
straints of religion, to profane the Lord's
day — to lessen the influence of churches
and ministers, and all sacred institutions.
Indeed, even children are now much wiser
than their parents, guardians and teachers,
in their own estimation. Many of these
young wiseacres, have yet to learn the
* The Cholera.
*15
170 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII.
rudiments of moral science. They may,
notwithstanding, be seen with all the
pompous air of assumed independence,
uniting in the mad cry, — "down with
churches, down with the ministry." And
this spirit is doing its legitimate work of
devastation and ruin. A large contribu-
tion for a ball, club supper, or some other
demoralizing amusement, can be raised
with ten-fold more ease, than even a
paltry penny collection to sustain a
church, or Sabbath school institution.
We speak now with general reference.
We believe it to be universally true, that
there is a growing disregard among men
to all that is godly, holy and good. Men
are growing wiser, but not better. They
are making wonderful improvements in
the arts and sciences. But their minds
are evidently blinded more and more by
the god of this world, who leads them
captive at his will. In view of such a
state of things, is it any wonder that we
behold God's judgments abroad in the
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 171
earth — " the pestilence walking in dark-
ness and destroying" its victims " at
noonday." For his usual method has
been, that when his appointed agencies
have failed to reclaim men from the error
of their ways, he has uniformly put forth
the fearful arm of vengeance. Let us be
wise, and improve the awful visitation in-
flicted upon us, by sincere repentance ; by
cultivating works of piety and love; be-
seeching him to turn away his anger, that
we perish not. And, a what thy hand
findeth to do" on this subject, u do it with
thy might, for there is no work" to be done
in this matter, " no device" no scheme to
be devised for your salvation, " no know-
ledge" of this to be obtained u in the
grave" of which we are now so frequently
reminded, by the mourners daily walking
the streets, carrying man to his long
home. I beseech you, therefore, to attend
to the things that belong to your peace,
now while you may, lest they be forever
hid from your eyes.
SERMON IX.
ADMONITION TO REDEEM THE TIME.
" Redeeming the time because the days are evil."
Eph. v. 16.
The benevolent Author of our exis-
tence, has allotted us a portion of time, in
order that we may attend to the various
duties that devolve upon us in our several
stations in life, and to prepare by sober,
righteous and godly living, for the solemn
concerns of death and eternity. And
when we are brought seriously to reflect
upon the very short space that is granted
to us individually, and the great and im-
portant work that must be done to secure
our everlasting happiness, and escape the
wrath to come, together with the many
difficulties and dangers to which we are
174 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX.
perpetually exposed : when we thus reflect,
time assumes an importance with which
it would be well to have our minds at all
times duly impressed. It was in this
point of view, its relation to the eternal
world, that caused the apostle so ear-
nestly to exhort Christians, in the lan-
guage of the text, to Redeem the time. He
regards it as a most precious gem that
should be, so to speak, bought up, and
never suffered to be lost, thrown away,
or wasted in idleness, sloth, vicious prac-
tices and pursuits; but to be redeemed
out of their hands, and employed in that
way which is consistent with the dictates
of an enlightened conscience, and the
revealed word of God. To redeem the
time, therefore, is not to recall hours that
are past and gone. This is impossible.
But it is to employ the present in that
manner that will promote our own true
peace, the welfare of those around us,
and thus secure the approbation of our
Creator.
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 175
We should redeem the time.
1. From idleness. An idler, one who
has no regular employment either for his
head or hands, is one of the most mise-
rable and contemptible creatures that
society can possibly be infested with.
Such an one is not only a misery to him-
self, but exerts also a most pernicious
influence upon all with whom he asso-
ciates. God created man with active en-
ergies; and he evidently designed that
he should put them forth to some good
purpose, in whatever state of life he may
be providentially placed. Active indus-
try is as much a religious duty, as it is
indispensable to our temporal comforts.
" Be not slothful in business" says the in-
spired apostle, but "fervent inspir it, serving
the Lord." 1 In thus uniting lawful indus-
try, with fervency of spirit, serving the Lord,
he evidently designed to give it a sacred
character. The reason why active indus-
1 Rom. xii., 11.
176 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX.
try may be regarded in close contact with
religion, is, that a habit of diligence is
thereby cultivated, which is indispensable
to true religion. Moral virtue and reli-
gion are sure to suffer wherever idleness
prevails. It is an enemy to all good, and
the nursery of every evil and vicious
principle and practice. An idler, there-
fore, should be shunned, as you would the
plague or pestilence. These remarks may
not apply to any one present: each one
may readily point to his daily avocation
as a just refutation of the charge of idle-
ness, so far as temporary matters are con-
cerned. This is all very well in its place,
w r e are every way disposed to award to
you all the credit that is due to an atten-
tive regard to daily business. But there
is such a thing as idleness in another
direction in which you may not so easily
ward olf the conviction of your guilt.
We are compound beings, possessed of an
immaterial, as well as a material and
mortal nature. And the same great Eter-
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 177
nal who has made it obligatory upon us
to be active and industrious in view of
the temporal comforts of the body; has
also made it our solemn and imperative
duty, to be diligent, actively engaged with
reference to the soul, upon which he has
stamped his own image of immortality.
What are you doing in this direction?
What efforts are you putting forth to
" enter in at the straight gate ;" — " to lay
hold on eternal life" — to have God for
your reconciled friend and father, and
your names written in the Lamb's book
of life ? Ah ! you cannot nullify the
charge of idleness here. You are com-
pelled to acknowledge in your own minds
that the charge is fully sustained in your
case. You are aware of having suffered
many hours to pass away, so far from
having been employed to any good pur-
pose, that they may be considered as total
blanks in your existence. Your golden
moments have flown swiftly by, and you
have looked on with as much though t-
16
178 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX.
lessness and indifference, as if your Crea-
tor had sent you into the world for no
other purpose than to sit down and quietly
repose in a state of spiritual stupor and
inactivity — doing nothing in reference to
your own salvation, or the salvation of
others. Our days may be suffered to pass
away as if they were of no account; but
it will be seen in a coming day, that time
wasted and unimproved was noticed by
Him with whom we have to do. It will
be seen to your terror and dismay, unless
averted by timely repentance, that every
vacant hour will be so many witnesses
rising up around you in the day of judg-
ment, to condemn you. Your fate will
be similar to the unprofitable servant
who hid his talent in the earth. Time
is a most precious talent granted us to be
employed to the honor and glory of God;
but spiritual idlers bury this inestimable
jewel in the grave of their " earthly, sen-
sual and devilish" pursuits and practices.
What else have they any ground to expect,
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 179
but to have the awful commission exe-
cuted upon them. — " Cast ye the unprofit-
able servant into outer darkness : there shall
he weeping, and gnashing of teeth" 1
We ought to redeem time.
2. From vain and vicious pleasures.
Man has found out a variety of ways to
amuse his fancy, and give pleasure to his
corrupt taste. And to gratify himself in
this respect, he scarcely begins to calcu-
late the cost. His estimate of the plea-
sures of the world is so high, that the cost
of participation is scarcely thought of.
To witness a theatrical performance, to
participate in a ball, or some other con-
vivial party, his hand readily opens, and
his means are freely expended; but to
contribute to the cause of God, religion
and humanity, it is done, if done at all,
with a mean, parsimonious and grudging
spirit. All this clearly shows how strong
1 Matt. xxv. ; 30.
180 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX.
a hold transitory pleasures have in . the
affections, excluding therefrom all that is
truly good, holy and divine. But what
after all is the character of these pleasures
upon which there is such a high estimate
placed ? They are all vain and empty as
a bubble on the w T ave. They are like a
dream which assumes all the appearance
of reality, till we awake from our slumber
and discover the deception.
They leave no trace upon the mind that
can be dwelt upon with real satisfaction,
like that which follows a virtuous and re-
ligious course. On the contrary, the pur-
suit of the vanities of life, is not only time
lost, but it is sure to bring in its train
that bitter remorse, and those keen up-
braidings, which foreshadow to the guilty
mind, the wrath to come. ye lovers of
pleasures more than lovers of God, you
w T ho are even now indulging glowing
anticipations of worldly joys, hear the im-
pressive voice of inspiration and ponder
your steps. "Rejoice, young man in
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 181
thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the
days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of
thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes : but
know thou, that for all these things God will
bring thee into judgment." 1 How will you
then answer for so much of your misspent
time in unsatisfying and vicious plea-
sures ? Will you say in the presence of
Jesus, who left us an example that we
might follow his steps, will you say in his
presence, that you considered them inno-
cent amusements? be wise, and
redeem the time by employing your pre-
cious moments, not in hewing out cisterns,
broken cisterns that can hold no water ;
but in seeking substantial pleasures ;
that flow from an evidence of your
acceptance with God, and your adoption
into the family of heaven.
Much time may be redeemed.
3. From unprofitable conversation.
1 Ecc. xi. 9.
16*
182 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX.
Man is a social being, and may therefore
derive much improvement, both in an
intellectual and moral point of view, by
a free interchange of sentiments and
opinions upon a proper subject, with his
associates and friends. The mere sugges-
tion of another who has viewed the sub-
ject in a different light from ourselves,
may in a moment free the mind from
some difficulty that might take days and
weeks of private investigation to remove.
Besides, there is a refined pleasure attend-
ing this mutual flow of thought. A per-
son travelling a journey in pursuit of
something valuable, may enjoy a good
degree of pleasure by anticipating the
object of his desire, but how is his joy
increased, when accompanied on the road
by associates of congenial minds. It is
thus with a circle of friends when they
convene together, and employ their time
in the reciprocal interchange of thought
upon a suitable theme. But when per-
sons meet together and pass away the
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 183
time in worse than idle talk, circulating
tales of slander, whispering, backbiting,
and speaking evil of their fellow-men,
this is killing time. And how many
even among the professed followers of
Christ, too often squander away their
precious moments in this way. Yfhen
they are found together, instead of ad-
hering to the Apostolic injunction, aim-
ing by their conversation, " to edify, to
minister grace' to those present, there is
too often a disposition manifested to in-
flict an injury upon the absent, forgetting
that for " every idle word that men shall
speak, they shall give account thereof in the
day of judgment." 1
As candidates for eternity, we should
also redeem the time.
4. From Worldly business. Diligent
attention to the lawful business of life, is
unquestionably a duty indispensable. " If
1 Matt, xii., 36.
184 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX.
any provide not for his own, and specially
for those of his own house, he is worse than
an infidel." 1 But, we are not to infer
from this inspired declaration, the liberty
of being absorbed in worldly business.
The most devoted busines man is careful
to redeem sufficient time to partake of
his daily food. And should there be no
time specially devoted to attaining the
bread that came down from heaven ?
Shall the body only be nourished, while
the soul, the deathless part, is suffered to
perish for lack of that spiritual meat that
endureth to everlasting life? What ex-
cuse will be given by you when called
to give a strict account of your steward-
ship at the awful tribunal of the Judge ?
Will you say that business was so urgent
that you could not spare any time for
purely religious purposes ? Such a frivo-
lous excuse may hush the voice of con-
science now, but it will not answer in the
great day of the Lord. David was
* 1 Tim. v., 8.
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 185
exalted to the throne, and had the cares
and perplexities pertaining to the charge
of a kingdom; yet he, with a host of
other ancient worthies, will put you to
silence. They all, without exception,
had stated hours to retire from the noise
and bustle of secular business, to com-
mune with God and their own hearts.
"Evening, and morning, and at noon"
says the Psalmist, a will I pray and cry
aloud, and he shall hear my voice." 1 There
are many who, so far from cultivating
piety during the week, are found daringly
to encroach upon the day consecrated to
holiness and God — the day on which the
Prince of life and glory triumphed over
death, " ascended up on high, led cap-
tivity captive, and received gifts for men,
yea, for the rebellious, that the Lord God
might dwell among them" — this day is
devoted by many to calculations of the
loss and gain of business ! 0, what deep
depravity, what shocking ingratitude is
1 Psa. lv., 17
186 ADxAIONITION TO [SER. IX.
this ! It is from these and other prac-
tices that might be specified, we are ex-
horted in the text, to redeem the time.
The important duty is urged upon us by
the following powerful motive : " because
the days are evil."
The evil days spoken of were those in
which sin and wickedness prevailed to an
alarming extent, especially among the
Gentile nations of the earth. They were
famous for their literature and knowledge
of the arts and sciences of civilization,
but they were nevertheless, sunk into the
lowest depths of superstition and moral
debasement. This he uses as an argu-
ment to his Christian brethren, why
they should "walk circumspectly, redeeming
the time" lest they become corrupted by
the pernicious errors and practices that
then prevailed. Does not a similar state
of things exist in the present day ? It
is true that the impressive sound of the
church-bell regularly bids the people to
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 187
enter the courts of the Lord's house, " to
hear his most holy word, to set forth his
most worthy praise, and to ask those
things which are requisite and necessary
as well for the body, as the soul." The
heralds of the cross in every direction
continue to beseech their fellow-men to
be reconciled to God. Sabbath schools
are in operation, directing the young in
the way they should go. Tracts and
other religious periodicals are scattered
broad-cast over the country ; yet, maugre
all the efforts that are made for the refor-
mation of man, does not sin, with his bra-
zen front, still stalk abroad in the land,
leaving misery, ruin, and desolation in
his track ? How many may we see on
the Lord's day, instead of being in the
house of God where prayer is w r ont to be
made, either standing at the corners of
the streets, riding about, or sailing on
pleasure excursions, or assembled together
in some genteel groggery ! ! Is not the
list of the intemperate, of gamblers and
188 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX.
infidels, fearfully increasing ? Acts of
high-handed robbery, injustice, cruelty,
murder and the like, are now of such
frequent occurrence, that they cease to
affect us. St. John the divine informs
•us that he "heard a loud voice, saying,
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of
the sea ! for the devil is come down unto
you, having great wrath, because he hnoweth
that he hath but a short time" 1 We do not
say, that this prophecy refers to the pre-
sent state of the world, but we may say,
that the prevailing wickedness of the
present time, shows that it is not alto-
gether inapplicable. And is there no
danger of being contaminated in the
midst of so much wickedness ? Is it not
as true now as ever, that, " Evil commu-
nications corrupt good manners ?" Have
we not had deplorable instances within
our own immediate observation, of the
increase of crime and wretchedness?
Do we not see some young men, who, a
1 Rev. xii., 12.
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 189
few days ago gave fair promise of a course
of honor and usefulness, falling victims
to the vice of intemperance ? Where is
that beautiful and interesting array of
young men which was seen with sober
mien and orderly deportment, engaged
either in the Sabbath school, or taking
part in the surpassingly beautiful and
sublime services of our church ? A few,
we rejoice to say, are still to be found at
their post. But where does the Sabbath
find too many of them now ? In the
path, which if not speedily retraced, will
inevitably lead to shame, disgrace, and
ruin in this world, and everlasting pun-
ishment in the world to come. This is
an ensnaring world — the moral atmos-
phere by which we are surrounded is
charged with death. And if we would
avoid being fatally infected, we must re-
deem the time, we must improve it by
daily seeking that divine aid which will
enable us to resist with success, the many
temptations that beset our path; other-
17
190 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX.
wise, you will be carried down the stream
of this world's delights, and be finally
lost in the gulf of endless woe.
2. By evil days the apostle had refer-
ence to the days of persecution. When
he wrote the epistle in which the text is
found, he was imprisoned at Eome, then
the seat of learning, and the metropolis
of the world, for the testimony he bore
to the despised doctrines of the cross. In
this view his argument may run thus : —
the days are evil. — You are daily liable to
be dragged to a loathsome prison, thence
to the place of execution, therefore, I
exhort you, to " walk circumspectly" cor-
rectly, u not as fools, but as wise, redeem-
ing the time"
We may not consider our lives to be in
danger from the spirit of persecution.
We are permitted to sit under our own
vine and fig-tree, none daring to molest
us. But are we secure against the attack
of some of the multiplied diseases and
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 191
disasters which daily carry our fellow-crea-
tures to the grave ? Are you certain of
living another week, another day, nay,
another hour? Do you not see some as
young, healthy and gay as yourselves,
fade away under the blightings of disease,
and finally fall like the leaves of autumn ?
Have you made a league with death that
it shall not come nigh you ? Were you
not included in the sentence, — " Dust tliou
art, and unto dust slialt thou return ?" Ah !
it cannot be long before the solemnly im-
pressive words in our burial service will
be pronounced over every one of us now
in divine presence : " earth to earth,
ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Oh, does
it become man, mortal man, critically
situated as he is, passing swiftly through
time to the eternal world, where his des-
tiny will be unalterably fixed in a state
of happiness or misery, depending upon
the character formed in this probationary
state ; I say, does it become him in such
circumstances, to be squandering his time
192 ADMONITION TO REDEEM THE TIME. [SIR. IX.
in the vain pleasures and vicious practices
of the world ? Should he not, on the
contrary, regard every flying moment as
precious, and be diligent in " working
out his own salvation with fear and
trembling, while God worketh in him
both to will and do his good pleasure ?"
This course your own conscience approves,
and the word of God enjoins. Let the
time past suffice wherein you have
wrought folly. Eesolve now that in the
strength of divine grace, you will no
longer live unto yourselves, but unto
Him who died for you and rose again.
And may He, "of whose only gift it
cometh that " we can do unto him " true
and laudable service, grant, that you may
so faithfully serve him in this life, that
you fail not finally to attain his heavenly
promises through the merits of Jesus
Christ our Saviour." — Amen.
SERMON X.
THE WISDOM OF DULY CONSIDERING THE
LATTER END.
" Oh that they were wise, that they understood
this, that they would consider their latter end."
Deut. xxxii., 29.
It is a serious thought, not always easy
to thrust aside, that every thing pertain-
ing to this life must come to an end, how
soon none can tell. This is a secret veiled
in the bosom of the great Eternal. The
solemn truth we cannot evade; the con-
viction is deep in our minds, that all
things which now delight the eye, gratify
the taste, dazzle and delude the giddy,
and which excite the ambition of a vain
multitude, all shall have an end. The
stars themselves shall fade, the sun grow
17*
194 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X.
dun with age, the earth shall wax old as
doth a garment, and be changed : and
man, its honored inhabitant, involved in
the same destiny, like the flowers of the
field, shall fade, wither, and finally die.
Every thing around, about, and within us
is calculated to prompt us to the import-
ant duty ; u so to number our days, that we
may apply our hearts unto wisdom." The
setting sun closing his golden eye in the
west — the faded leaf falling to the earth
— the majestic river flowing on gradually
untiL finally lost in the bosom of the
ocean — the daily spectacle of " man going
to his long home, and the mourners walk-
ing along the streets," all are so many
monitors of Providence, reminding us of
the solemn change we individually must
shortly make. But notwithstanding the
instructive lessons that pour in upon us
from these and other sources, like the Is-
raelites to whom the text primarily refers,
the great majority of mankind will not
be wise : more stupid than the ox, they
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 195
will not understand, they will not " consi- t
der their latter end" Happy for you, my
brethren, did you all form an exception —
happy, were you free from the charge of
a criminal thoughtlessness upon this all
important subject. But you are not so
devoid of candor as to present your claim
to innocence on this point. Well do you
know, and often have you felt the appli-
cation of the text in your own case ; often
have you heard the still, but powerful voice
within, exclaiming, — " Oh, that you were
wise, that you understood this, that you woidd
consider your latter end !"
The two following propositions, will
form the foundation of the remarks that
we shall offer for your consideration.
1st. A due consideration of our latter
end, is the part of true wisdom.
2d. The unwillingness of men to be
wise in those things which involve their
highest interest, affords matter for deep
lamentation.
196 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X.
1. Duly to consider our end is not occa-
sionally to bestow some thought upon the
subject. This we cannot avoid if we
would. Thoughts of death, will now and
then, of their own accord, flit across the
mind of every man. He is compelled, by
the law of his nature, which, while it
leads him to look forward to other future
events, constrains him to give some
thoughts to the subject of his mortality.
But such a consideration as this, does not
constitute true wisdom. A due conside-
ration of any subject, is to give it that
practical attention which its importance
demands. If our end consisted in the
total annihilation of both soul and body ;
were we destined to be remanded back to
nothing ; then, the proper consideration
of our end would lead us to confine our
thoughts chiefly to this world. The dic-
tates of wisdom would be for us to make
the best we could of our ephemeral exist-
ence — ■" to eat, drink, and be merry."
But annihilation is not our destiny.
SER X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 197
" A voice within us speaks the startling word,
Man, thou shalt never die. Celestial voices
Hymn it around our souls."
There will only be a temporary separa-
tion of parts — the spiritual from the
material. The body will moulder away
to its original elements and remain in
that condition until animated and recon-
structed again by the voice of the Arch-
Angel and the trump of God. The soul,
not subject to dissolution and decay, will
be conveyed to the Paradise of God, there
to await in joyful anticipation, the con-
summation of its bliss, reunited to the
body, in God's eternal and everlasting
kingdom : or else be " driven away in its
wickedness," to participate in the horrors
of those condemned spirits that are "re-
served in chains of darkness unto the
judgment of the great day :" depending
upon the character formed in this proba-
tionary state. It is unnecessary to cite
the Scripture passages that contain the
truths here advanced. Your perfect fanii-
1C8 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X.
liarity with them, we take for granted.
Seeing then, that in the " latter end" of
man, his happiness or misery will be unal-
terably fixed forever, a due consideration
of it, would unquestionably lead him to
prepare to avoid the one and enjoy the
other. And here the great question
arises, how can sinful man be thus pre-
pared ? How can he who has transgressed
the laws of his Maker, and rendered
himself obnoxious to his sore displeasure,
become reconciled to him, restored to his
favor and image here, and be advanced to
honor, dignity, glory, and endless happi-
ness hereafter ? There is a way, and but
one way ; viz., " the new and living way
opened up for us by the blood of Jesus."
Reason debased, for centuries tried, but
in vain, to find, the sure, the narrow way,
that leads to glory and immortality. But
it pleased God in infinite benevolence, to
devise the plan by which " He can be just
and yet the justifier of him that belie v-
eth in Jesus, with a heart unto righteous-
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 199
ness." 6i God so loved the world, as to give
Ids only begotten Son, that ivhosoever believ-
eth in him should not perish, but have ever-
lasting life." 1 We may clothe ourselves
in the garment of self-righteousness, we
may felicitate ourselves on the ground of
our own goodness, and be esteemed by a
short-sighted world as the best of citizens,
but this will be found at last to be a poor
preparation for an exit from time to eter-
nity. With no other preparation than
our own righteousness, we shall be like
the man, spoken of in the Gospel, who
built his house upon the sand, "When
the rains descended and the Hood came
and beat upon his house, it fell and great
was the fall."
Nothing can be more absurd than the
idea of man attempting to recommend
himself to the favor of God by his own
fancied goodness. He has often violated
the law of God which denounces death
upon the transgressor ; yet, he attempts
1 St. Jno. iii., 16.
200 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X.
to gain the favor of God by his outward
observance of it, seeking to be justified by
the law, that condemns him as a trans-
gressor, and continually cries :— " Pay
that thou owest" — settle up for your past
follies. Let us suppose that you are now
blameless so far as may relate to your
outward deportment. What is to be done
with the follies and vanities of youth ?
What amends can you make for your
past thoughtless indifference, and criminal
negligence of God and of his claims upon
your undivided service ? You must re-
member, that his law requires a line of
perfect, unfaltering obedience from the
time of our accountability to the end of
life. Its terms are . rigid. Its language
is: — "Do this and liver "The soul that
sinneth it shall die," Ah, self-righteous
man, you are in a dilemma. You must
either enter and make good your plea at
the bar of your judge, of perfect obedience
on your part, or humbly fall at the foot-
stool of mercy, sue for pardon, and plead
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 201
the perfect obedience, and vicarious death
of another, viz., the Lord Jesus Christ.
To perfect obedience to the law, you can
lay no claim. " All have sinned and come
short of the glory of God." None can
" tell how oft he offendeth." To be justi-
fied by the deeds of the law, therefore, is
impossible. The great provision made in
the gospel, is the only hope of sinful man.
If then we would be prepared to meet
death in perfect peace, we must be " found
in Christ, not having our own righteous-
ness which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Christ, the right-
eousness which is of God by faith." The
promise of eternal blessedness is to those
only, who are thus united to Christ, by
that faith " which works by love, purifies
the heart and overcomes the world ;" who
have been raised from a death of sin,
unto a new birth unto righteousness, by
the power of the Holy Ghost, and are
walking as those who are alive from the
dead. The persons who answer this de-
is
202 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X.
scription have been graciously brought to
understand, and duly consider their latter
end. They have availed themselves of
God's plan of reconciliation. Hence, they
are truly wise. That man would be con-
sidered wise, who in having to travel
over a trackless desert infested by rave-
nous beasts, first provided himself with
proper guards, and other necessaries pro-
per to render his journey both safe and
comfortable. In our pilgrimage through
mortality, many dangers beset our path,
from the world, the flesh and Satan. Is he
not eminently wise, who has chosen the
Lord for his portion, his strong tower and
defence ? Such an one need not fear any
evil tidings, his heart may be fixed, trust-
ing in the arm of the Lord. That man,
who, before rearing his superstructure,
first secures a foundation of sufficient
strength to bear its weight, may be con-
sidered wise; but how much more so
should he be considered, who rears his
hopes of heaven and eternal happiness
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 203
upon the Rock of Ages, the sure and
immutable foundation which God himself
has laid in Zion. He who provides in
spring and summer against the cold and
chilling winds of winter is wise : but how
much more so is the man who provides
for his solid comfort against the cold
blasts of death by securing a shelter
under the everlasting arm? Such an
one judges rightly in that which should
concern him most ; in that which involves
his highest and best interests ; hence he
is pre-eminently wise. He regards him-
self only as a pilgrim, a sojourner here.
He sets his affections, not on things below,
but on things above. His conversation is
in Heaven. He puts a proper estimate
upon the things of this life. He uses the
world, as not abusing it. He passes
through things temporal so as not to lose
those things that are eternal. He rea-
sons thus. — The things that are seen, are
temporal,, but the things that are not seen
are eternal. What then would it profit
204 THE WISDOM OP DULY [SER. X.
me were I to gain the whole world and
finally lose my soul ? Were all its wealth
and honor and glory mine, I could keep
them only a few days. But if I lose my
soul, it is not lost for a limited time, but lost
forever. Seeing that his immortal spirit
outweighs the world with all its magnifi-
cence and all its glory, he wisely "counts
all things but dung and loss, that he
might win Christ, and be found of him in
peace." But how little of this heavenly
wisdom is to be found in the world ? If
we contemplate man as an inhabitant of
this earth, without reference to eternity,
and consider his great and wonderful
achievements in the arts and sciences, we
are forced to acknowledge his eminent
wisdom. But when we regard him as a
candidate for eternity, what a falling off
is here. How .blind, how grossly ignorant
is he in his spiritual and eternal concerns !
And it is not because of the impossibility
of his displaying the same wisdom in this
SER X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 205
direction as in the other, but solely be-
cause he will not — he will not be wise.
The Scriptures represent man's unwil-
lingness to accept the offers of mercy as
made to him in the gospel, as the chief
cause of his final ruin. " Ye will not come to
me" says Jesus, u that ye might have life" 1
u O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou thai killed
the prophets and stonest them ivhich are sent
unto thee, how often would I have gathered
thy children together, as a hen gather eth her
chickens under her wings, and ye woidd not !
Behold, your house is left unto you deso-
lated
u Because 1 have called, and ye refused ; I
have stretched out my hand, and no man re-
garded : But ye have set at nought all my coun-
sel and would none of my reproof. I also ivill
laugh at your calamity : I will mock ivhen
your fear cometh : when your fear cometh as
desolation, and your destruction cometh as a
whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh
upon you. Then shall they call upon me, hut I
1 St. Jno. v., 40. 2 Matt, xxiii., 37-38.
*18
206 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X.
will not answer, they shall seeh me early, hut
they shall not find me. For that they hated
hnowledge, and did not choose the fear of
the Lord. They would none of my counsel,
they despised all my reproof. Therefore,
shall they eat of the fruit of their own way,
and be filled with their own devices." 1
We pass on to consider.
II. The unwillingness of men to be
wise in those things which involve their
highest interest, affords matter for deep
lamentation. To see a man dwelling
close to a perennial spring of water, and
yet with great labor and fatigue hewing
out first one broken cistern, and then
another, and after multiplied disappoint-
ments to die of thirst, could not fail to
excite our pity for his consummate folly.
In this, we have a faint picture of the
conduct of men generally. The fountain
of living waters, is within the reach of
1 Prov. i., 24-31.
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 207
every man. He has an unconquerable
thirst for happiness. But instead of
seeking it where alone it can be found,
he tries this, that and the other expedi-
ent, and though disappointed over and
over again, he will not be wise ; he dies
eternally, he perishes for lack of those
heavenly streams, which he might have
received if he would, " without money
and without price." The prodigal son, who
strayed away from the paternal care of a
kind parent, squandered his substance in
riotous living, and reduced himself to a state
of starvation and wretchedness, w r as truly
an object to be pitied. But preeminently
so are those who have strayed away from
the wholesome restraints of their Heaven-
ly Father. Unwilling to yield to the
holy requisitions of his love, they follow
the devices and desires of their own
hearts. See the multitudinous crowd of
immortal men, wending their way in the
" broad" road, led on by Satan, the god of
this world. A portentous storm is gath-
208 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X.
ering not far in the distance. The day of
God's wrath is at hand, and they are out
in that dangerous and destructive path
without a shelter, and in a filthy, ragged,
and starving condition. Their Heavenly
Father is willing to shelter them beneath
his everlasting arm ; to wash them in the
blood of the everlasting covenant, to
clothe them with the robe of righteous-
ness ; to feed them with the bread of
heaven. He condescends to call after
the wanderers in the language of paternal
affection : " My son, give me thy heart." 1
He expostulates with them, saying, —
" How long ye simple ones, will ye love sim-
plicity, and fools hate knowledge ?" 2 " Where-
fore do ye spend money for that which is not
bread ? and your labor for that which satis-
Jieth not ? hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul
delight itself in fatness." 3 But all these
kind calls and tender expostulations are
disregarded. The deluded souls continue
1 Prov. xxiii., 26. 2 Prov. i., 22. 8 Isa. lv., 2.
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 209
to wander farther and farther from God.
Still he cries after them : " Turn you, turn,
you at my reproof." Some wander at such
an awful distance, that the voice of mercy
which once came home to them with power,
now, dies away in whispers upon their
obdurate hearts. They wander, until
they " stumble" at last _" upon the dark
mountains," and plunge headlong, into the
whirlpool of endless perdition. This is
the silly part acted by that being who is
so prone to pride himself on the dignity
of his nature. We would not cast any
reflection upon his dignity; we would
rather mourn ovej the strong indications
he gives of a moral desolation. He pre-
sents a scene truly affecting. He is like
a noble mansion in ruins. The grand
and lofty columns, the fine exquisite
workmanship, which are still seen, are
striking evidences of former greatness :
but the glory has departed. It is natural
for us to linger in pensive melancholy, as
we behold the remaining traces of depart-
210 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X.
ed grandeur. There is something enchant-
ing in the sight, that keeps us fast bound
to the spot. Our eyes are fixed upon the
spectacle. We compare the past with the
present, and the sad contrast affects the
heart, and awakens the tenderest emo-
tions. The unconscious tear stands tremb-
ling in the eye, as we behold the melan-
choly scene. But there is nothing so
affecting, so much to be lamented, as the
perverse obstinacy, and rebellious course
of impenitent sinners. It was in view of
this, that the Psalmist exclaimed : " Rivers
of waters run down mine eyes, because they
keep not thy law" 1 It was in view of this,
that the blessed Jesus lingered about Je-
rusalem, and " wept over it" saying, " If
thon hadst known, even thou at least in this
thy day, the things which belong unto thy
■peace! but now they are hid from thine
eyes." 2 It was in view of this, that the
great Jehovah himself, is represented as
lamenting, in the terms expressed in our
1 Psa. cxix., 136. a St. Luke xix. ; 41-42.
SEE. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END 211
text, — " 0, that they were wise, that they
understood this, that they would consider
their latter end ! "
Permit me now, my brethren, to urge
you forward in the glorious pursuit of
true wisdom. Of all other inquiries, let
this be the all-absorbing one — What shall
I do that I may inherit eternal life ? How
may I ensure a blissful immortality when
my flesh and my heart shall fail ? Get
wisdom, but with all your getting, get
understanding. See to it, that you lay up a
good foundation against the time to come.
Ignorance here, is fatal. Better be a way-
faring man and a fool in other matters,
so that you be wise unto salvation, than
to stand upon the loftiest pinnacle of
earthly wisdom, and be ignorant in hea-
venly things. The advantages of earthly
wisdom are confined to this world ; but
the wisdom which is from above, leads us
besides " the still waters" of comfort in
this world, and introduces into that glqri-
212 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X.
ous region above, where is fulness of joy
and pleasures forevermore. I entreat you
then, above all things, to get this wisdom
— the wisdom that includes a preparation
against that hour, when the earth shall
recede and disappear, and eternity with
all her awful realities, shall break in upon
your astonished sight. Prepare, by break-
ing off your sins, by righteousness and
turning to the Lord, in full purpose of
heart. Prepare, by obtaining an interest
in the merits of Christ, who died for our
offences, and was raised again for our jus-
tification. He is your only hope. He is
the only rod and staff that can comfort
you when called to pass the valley and
shadow of death. He is the " bright and
morning star" that can light up your path-
way from earth to heaven. Then be wise.
Choose him for your portion. Take him
for your " all in all." Pass through things
temporal, so as not to lose those things
that are eternal ; counting all things but
logs, so that you may win Christ, and be
found of him in peace.
SEEMON XI.
A SACRED NEARNESS TO GOD RECOMMENDED.
" Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you."
Gen. Epis. James iv., 8.
In discoursing from the words of the
text, we shall be led to consider.
First, — The distant relation that fallen
man sustains to his Maker.
Second, — The duty enjoined upon man
to draw nigh to God.
Thirdly,— The encouragement to the
performance of this duty. — He will draw
NIGH TO YOU.
1. The distant relation that fallen man
sustains to his Maker. The great God in
his essential presence, is not far from any
one of us. " He is about our bed, and
19
214 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI.
about our path, and spies out all our
ways." He fills the great immensity of
space, and is therefore, everywhere pre-
sent at the same time. This truth, too
large for either human or angelic minds
fully to grasp, is set forth by the Psalmist
in language the most lofty and sublime :
" Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? or
whither shall I flee from thy presence ? If
I ascend up into heaven thou art there. If
I make my bed in hell behold thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell
in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there
shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand
shall hold me." 1 God is present to spy out
all our thoughts, motives, intentions, dis-
positions, tempers and actions: He is pre-
sent to know, sustain and uphold every
minute part of his widely extended crea-
tion, whether animate or inanimate ; aye,
his presence extends far beyond the bounds
of those innumerable worlds that roll in
1 Psa. cxxxix., 7-10.
SEE. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 215
the wide expanse of heaven ; infinitely
further than the imagination can possibly
reach. But notwithstanding the great
Eternal be thus everywhere present, and
of course nigh unto all of us, yet, fallen
man, nevertheless, stands at an awful
distance from him. The Omnipresence
of God is one of his natural attributes.
It follows as a necessary consequence of
his existence. It is just as impossible
for the Creator not to be Omnipresent, as
it is for him not to exist. And that the
non-existence of the Deity is impossible,
is clear from what strikes our senses in
every direction. We see, for instance,
a variety of living creatures on the earth,
in the air, and in the waters. And we
know that they could not create them-
selves ; they must depend upon some
other cause for their existence ; and that
cause must be absolutely independent ;
for an eternal succession of dependent
beings is impossible. There must be an
end to the chain of secondary causes,
216 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI*
and that end, is the uncaused, uncreated
God. Thus we see, that the non-exist-
ence of God is impossible. And that he
should not be Omnipresent, is equally
impossible. He being, as we have seen,
uncreated ; he must necessarily be abso-
lutely independent ; and the being who
is absolutely independent, must be Omni-
potent, must possess Almighty power,
power to do everything that does not
imply a contradiction. And he who has
power thus to do everything, must be
everywhere present; for we cannot con-
ceive of power to do anything, where
there is no agent to* exert that power.
But there are other attributes of the
Deity spoken of in the Holy Scriptures
denominated moral ; such as his holiness,
justice, goodness and truth. We need
recite only a few passages that relate to
God's moral excellency. " Who is like
unto thee, Lord, among the gods ? Who
is like thee, glorious in holiness " x " Thou
*Ex. xv., 11.
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 217
art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and
canst not look on iniquity." 1 u Ood is
light, and in him is no darkness at all" 2
Of his justice they thus speak. "Jus-
tice and judgment are the habitation of thy
tJwone." 3 u He is excellent in power and
in judgment, and in plenty of justice." 4
They are equally explicit in declaring
his goodness and truth. " The Lord, the
Lord Ood, merciful and gracious, long-
suffering, and abundant in goodness and
truth." 5 Now it is the duty and high
privilege of man to be conformed to the
Divine nature in his moral excellence.
But when we contemplate unregenerate
man, either in the light of experience or
revelation, we cannot fail to see the vast
distance at which he stands from that
moral likeness of God, which it is his
privilege to bear. God is holy ; he looks
upon sin with infinite abhorrence. But
1 Hab. i., 13. 2 1st Epis. Glen. Jno. 1., 5.
3 Psa. lxxxix., 14. * Job xxxvii., 23.
5 Ex. xxxiv., 6.
19*
218 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI.
man is unholy ; he is conceived and born
in sin. Sinful thoughts, desires, affec-
tions and tempers, he freely indulges in,
while sinful practices and pursuits are
engaged in by him with delight. God is
just; but man is unjust. He is unjust
to himself, as he fails to bestow the atten-
tion that is due to the paramount
interests of his spiritual nature. This
being the case, he cannot be otherwise
than unconcerned about the spiritual and
eternal concerns of his fellow-creatures.
He is unjust towards God, in withholding
that reverential fear and devout service
to which he has an indisputable claim.
God is good. His goodness, like the
bright sun in the heavens, shines along
the pathway of every child of Adam that
comes into the world. In all his works
and ways, he evidently has a kind regard
to the happiness of the creatures he has
made. But unrenewed man is so far
from bearing the moral likeness of his
Maker in this respect, that, on the con-
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 219
trary, all his works and ways tend ulti-
mately, not only to his own misery, but
to the utter ruin also of all over whom
he has influence. To use the strong
language of scripture :— " Destruction and
misery are in their ways" u and the ivay of
peace have they not known" 1 We have
thus given a brief sketch of the moral
image of unrenewed man. And how
unlike the moral likeness of his Maker?
The one is Light, the other, darkness.
Now so long as man maintains this
position, so long as he stands in this
opposing relation to his Maker, he can-
not be happy. It is impossible. Where
is there an intelligent creature in the wide
universe, who can be happy, unless
approbated by his Maker, the only source
of happiness ? And can the great Su-
preme, approbate a character, that is in
direct opposition to his own ? No, never.
Light and darkness can amalgamate
sooner than the Eternal God can look
1 Eom. iii., 16-17.
220 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI.
with complacency, either upon man or
angel, that does not, in his measure, bear
his moral image and likeness. There is
a perpetual war between the two. God
has no fellowship with the wicked. And
the wicked have no communion with him.
" The carnal mind is enmity against God"
The final issue of this hostility, according
to the sacred oracles, will be terrible in
the extreme. They teach us that " the
day cometh, when all the proud" con-
temners of God's law, " and all that do
wickedly," shall, at the awful sentence of
the Judge, " go away into everlasting
punishment, where shall be weeping and
wailing and gnashing of teeth." Awfully
tremendous is the doom that awaits the
finally impenitent. But as our heavenly
Father " hath no pleasure in the death of
the wicked, but that the wicked turn
from his wickedness and live," he has in
infinite kindness devised a plan by which
he may escape that misery to which his
native opposition to God will certainly
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 221
lead. There is no way, however, of
escape for man, unless he alter his posi-
tion, unless a radical change take place
in his moral character. Hence the ex-
hortation in the text — "Draw nigh to
God." As man's distance from the moral
image of God is particularly alluded to,
so to draw nigh to Him, is to advance
progressively towards his divine image,
and likeness. We draw nigh to God : —
1. By repentance. Eepentance pro-
perly speaking comprehends three things,
viz. : conviction of sin, sorrow on account
of it, and the forsaking of it. The search-
ing light of heaven first discloses to the
sinner the sad reality that his "whole
head is sick," and his "whole heart faint;"
that, " from the sole of the foot even unto
the head there is no soundness in it, but
wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores :"
that " have not been closed, neither bound
up, neither mollified with ointment." This
view of native depravity, this conviction
222 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI.
of sin, is accompanied with a generous
sorrow on account of it. "I am weary"
says penitent David, " with my groaning ;
all the night make I my bed to swim : I water
my couch with my tears. Mine eye is con-
sumed because of grief." 1 This sorrow,
however, is not merely a mental anguish
arising from the fear, of punishment, but
a tender and filial grief for having sinned
against the most endearing goodness, and
offended the kindest and best of friends.
No other consideration pierces the soul
so deep and causes it to overflow with
penitential sorrow, as the thought of its
ingratitude and rebellion against Him who
bought us with the Saviour's blood. He
sums up all his guilt and crime in the peni-
tent acknowledgement — u Against thee,
thee only have I sinned." 2 This conviction
of and sorrow for sin, lead to the forsaking
of it. The penitent, like the prodigal in
the Gospe], forms the resolution to arise
from his state of wretchedness, and he is
Psa. vi., 6-7. a Psa. 1L, 4.
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 223
enabled through grace to put his resolu-
tion into practice : he arises, brings forth
fruit meet for repentance, ceasing to do
evil and learning to do well. "The vows
that" he "made, or that was made in"
his "name at" his "baptism," he ratifies
and confirms, "acknowledging" himself
"bound to believe and to do all those
things which'' he " then undertook, or"
his "sponsors undertook for" him.
The soul has now so far changed
its position, that whereas sin, in which
it formerly took so much delight, now
appears in all its native odiousness, as
something to be loathed and shunned.
He perceives also a beauty in the holiness
of God which he never saw before, and
his anxious desire is to be conformed in
his measure, more and more to the same
image. Hence he draws nigh to God.
2. In the exercise of faith. Under
the dispensation of the Gospel, God has
appointed repentance and a lively faith
224 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI.
in his mercy through Christ, as the terms
to be complied with on the part of man
in order to his restoration to the divine
favor. Hence the command : " Kepent
te and believe the Gospel." 1 So, when-
ever a soul is suitably humbled under a
sense of his sins, though he may see
sufficient grounds for self-reproach for his
former ingratitude, his unnatural and long
continued rebellion against God, yet he
goes to his heavenly Father with the
determination to submit to his govern-
ment, imploring and relying upon his
mercy through Christ. We repeat, that
he relies upon God's mercy through Christ.
For we have no grounds to expect pardon-
ing mercy at the hands of God in any
other w r ay than through faith in Jesus
Christ. "No man can come to me" says
Jesus, "except the Father which hath
sent me, draw him." 2 Again he says,
66 Him that cometh to me I will in no ivise
cast out" 3 Here we learn that in the
* St. Mark i. ; 15. 2 Jno. vi., 44. 3 Jno . vi , 37.
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 225
economy of grace God the Father draws
man : he draws him by the cords of love,
he sheds light into his mind, and dis-
covers unto him his wretched condition ;
he shows him the great provision his love
has made for his salvation, he directs him
to look to the Lamb he has appointed to
take away the sins of the world. And
whenever the penitent in obedience yields
to this drawing, and centres all his hopes
in Him who gave himself a ransom for
all, then to such an one the promise in
the text is verified. The Lord in his
mercy draws nigh to that soul.
1. He draws nigh to impart a com-
fortable sense of pardon and reconcilia-
tion.
He sheds abroad m the believing heart a
peace that the world cannot give ; a peace
that passeth all understanding. " The
Spirit itself" says St. Paul, "beareth wit-
ness with our spirit that we are the children
20
^26 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI.
of God." 1 And being emancipated through
grace, from the servile fear of wrath and
condemnation, they are enabled to ap-
proach God as their Almighty friend and
Father, from whose inexhaustible fulness
they receive all that they need, both for
time and eternity. God deals with them
as children. He manifests himself unto
them as he doth not unto the world, by
imparting unto them light, life, strength,
comfort and consolation, to aid them to
walk in the path of holiness. Once they
were strangers to communion with God,
but now they know what it is to enjoy
sweet fellowship with the Father and
with his Son Jesus Christ. But as they
are daily exposed to a very formidable
opposition to their advancement in the
divine life ; an opposition from the world,
the flesh and Satan, through whose influ-
ence they would inevitably fall if left to
themselves, the Lord draws near, —
1 Rom. viii., 16.
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 227
2. To guide, direct and support them.
At all times, and under all circumstances
of trial, he is near, whispering in tones
sweeter than heavenly music, saying unto
them, "Fear not ; be not dismayed, I am thy
God, I will uphold thee, I will strengthen
thee!' Though they pass through the
waters of affliction, he assures them that
" they shall not be overflowed." And
when they are called to " walk through
the valley and shadow of death," he will
be the rod and staff to comfort them, and
will ultimately lead them to that eternal
rest that remains for the people of God.
How thankful we should be, my breth-
ren, for the great provision that is made
for us in the gospel. We had by wicked
works alienated ourselves from God, ren-
dered ourselves obnoxious to his wrath
and sore displeasure — " treasured up unto
ourselves wrath against the day of wrath
and revelation of the righteous judgment
of God." But in his infinite benevolence
he contrived a plan by which we may be
228 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI.
brought back, restored to his favor and
image here, and finally exalted to ever-
lasting happiness in the bright world
above. Let those who have been gra-
ciously brought into a sacred nearness to
God, show their thankfulness for this ines-
timable privilege, by making nearer ap-
proaches to him, by diligent attendance
upon all the appointed means of grace —
daily cultivating those graces of the Spirit
which in the sight of God are of great
price. " The path of the just is as the
shining light, which shines more and
more unto the perfect day." The nearer
you approach to Him, the nearer will He
be found to you, imparting more light to
direct you in the way in which you should
go ; more strength to enable you to resist
your spiritual foes ; more comfort to ani-
mate you on your pilgrimage. Thus
advancing in the divine life, being ambi-
tious to comprehend with all saints, what
is "the length and breadth, height and
depth, and to know the love of Christ
which passeth knowledge," you may hope
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 229
to have an abundant entrance into that
kingdom where is fulness of joy and plea-
sures forevermore.
We would now address a few words,
especially, to that part of our hearers who
are far off from God by wicked works.
My impenitent hearers, consider what a
fearful position you occupy — enemies to
the great God of the universe ! You may
be shocked at this, but it is nevertheless
true. Every one now in Divine presence,
who has arrived to the years of maturity,
and is found in a state of impenitency, is
an enemy to God. You are rebels against
His government. You stand in battle
array against him, led on by " the Prince
of Darkness, he who now worketh in the
hearts of the children of disobedience."
And, what do you suppose, will be the
issue of this hostility ? Canst thou, whose
habitation is in the dust, contend with
the arm of Omnipotence ? Suppose the
wrath of every individual in this commu-
nity was aroused against you, would you
20*
230 A NEARNESS TO GOD RECOMMENDED. [SER. XI.
stand singly and alone, and contend
against it ? No. You would escape for
your life ; you would prefer a lodging in
some vast wilderness. But what will you
do when the Lord " ariseth to shake terribly
the earth f When the great day of his
wrath shall come, whither shall you fly ?
" Behold, he cometh ivith clouds, and every
eye shall see him, and they that pierced
him" Where now will you find shelter
from that " fire that shall devour before
Him?" Where in the wide universe
will you then find an all-availing friend ?
Thank God, that we are yet pirsoners
of hope, that a Throne of Grace is
erected, and that sinners may now
obtain mercy and find grace to help them
in their time of need. I beseech you,
therefore, to improve these precious pri-
vileges, while as yet pardon may be
obtained. Lay down the weapons of
your rebellion, and fight against God no
more. Acquaint now thyself with Him,
and be at peace. Draw nigh to Him, and
He will draw nigh to you.
SERMON XII.
HAPPY END OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD.
"Fob, David after he had served his own genera-
tion by the will of God, fell on sleep."*
Acts xiii. — 36.
It requires but little reflection clearly
to perceive, that the benevolent Author
of our existence has sent us into the world
to be active : active in the discharge of
all those duties that conduce to our own
individual happiness, and the happiness of
those around and about us. The chain
of mutual dependence that connects the
one family of man together ; the progres-
sive improvement in moral and intellec-
* Preached on occasion of the death of Rev. Peter
Williams, rector of St. Philip's Church, New York
city, Nov. 15th, 1840.
232 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII.
tual worth of which he is susceptible ;
the clear indications he skives of being an
heir of immortality, destined to survive
the globe he inhabits ; all show, that he
has been made an inhabitant of this world
for quite different purposes than to sit
down on the lap of ease, and be a mute
spectator of what he beholds around him.
" I must work the works of him that sent me
tohile it is day ;" 1 was the motto of our
divine exemplar, while his dwelling was
among the sons of men. True it is, that
no mortal man, nor naming seraph, was
adequate to the great work which he, in
amazing condescension, undertook to per-
form, and which he so triumphantly
finished. But it is vain for any to bear
His name, who is not actuated by the
same principle of devotedness to God, that
shone so conspicuously in His eventful
life.
The life of the Christian is a state of
service. He is in the condition of a
1 John ix. ; 4.
SEE. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 233
servant, ordered with others into their
Master's vineyard, to perform a certain
amount of labor. They all have a day
in which they may attend to the work
allotted them. And, however, some may
loiter away their time and neglect their
work in defiance of the orders given, the
Christian, as a good and faithful servant,
is found diligently employed at the post
assigned to him. Being duly impressed
with the importance of what he has to
do, and with the value of time allotted
him, he " works out his own salvation
with fear and trembling, while God
worketh in him Sboth to will and to do of
his good pleasure." He labors to have
that " Kingdom" established in his heart
that consisteth in (i righteousness, peace
and joy in the Holy Ghost." The oppo-
sition he meets with in this work, affords
him ground for greater diligence. The
world, in all its fascinating and bewilder-
ing charms, is often presented, in order
to divert his attention; the remains of
234 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII.
inward depravity often prove a source
of much trouble and difficulty in the way
of his progressive improvement ; Satan,
that invisible but powerful enemy, uses
his various devices to harass, intimidate
and dishearten. But maugre all this
hostile and formidable array, he is ena-
bled in the strength of Jesus to persevere
in his course. He adds to his "faith,
virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to
knowledge, temperance: and to temperance,
patience ; and to patience, godliness ; and
to godliness, brotherly-kindness; and to
brotherly -kindness, charity." 1 The Chris-
tian, in order to be successful in securing
his own personal salvation, finds that it
requires continual watchfulness, prayer,
self-denial and diligent attendance on all
the appointed means of grace. But his
efforts do not terminate on himself.
" He serves his generation." He " looks
not on his own things," exclusively,
"but also on the things of others."
1 2d Peter i. ; 5-6-7.
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 235
True religion expands the heart ; it leads
those who pay homage at her holy altar
to devote a portion of their time and
talents towards ameliorating the condi-
tion of their fellow-men. While it con-
sists with paying special regard to our
own personal happiness, or the happiness
of those with whom we are connected by
the ties of blood, conjugal relation or
Christian fellowship, it cannot be confined
within these narrow limits. Unrestricted
by these ties, it extends its kind wishes
and benevolent regards to the limits of
the habitable globe. Its sincere and
devout prayer is ; — " Thy Kingdom
come : Thy will be done on earth as
it is in heaven." Nor does it rest in
kind feelings towards mankind. It lends
a helping hand to all those institutions
whose object is to advance peace and
happiness, truth and justice, religion and
piety throughout the earth. Under its
expanding influence our hearts and hands
will be open to supply the needy, and to
236 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII.
every species of distress we shall be dis-
posed to give relief. Even towards our
enemies, we shall not be satisfied with
verbal expressions of kindness, but will
be ready at the first opportunity to give
our kindness a tangible form.
The rule by which the Christian is
governed in his actions deserves our
notice.
"He serves his generation by the will
of God." It is possible for a person to
render very important services to the age
in which he lives, without having any
reference whatever to the will or com-
mands of his Maker. He may give libe-
rally to the poor and needy, he may exert
his talents in diffusing correct notions on
the subject of human rights; he may take
a conspicuous part in all the great moral
enterprises, which, like "the leaves of the
tree of life, are for the healing of the
nations," and at the same time be actu-
ated by no higher motive than self-
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 237
aggrandizement. "Verily," as our Saviour
said of the Pharisees, "they have their
reward." They may obtain the object of
their pursuit — "the praise of men;" but
the plaudit of Heaven they cannot hope
to receive. For all works flowing from
such motives, however extolled among
men, are in the sight of God of no value.
On the other hand, the true Christian is
governed in his actions by a due regard
to God. His will or word is the regu-
lating principle in all his works and
ways. In whatever station Divine Provi-
dence sees fit to place him, whether in a
public or private — in whatever condition,
whether rich or poor, high or low, lie
makes the will of God as contained in his
word the rule by which he acts. This
is ever a "lantern unto his feet and a
light unto his path." What a wide con-
trast presents itself between the Phari-
saical and the truly godly man. While
vain-glory is the only incentive by which
the former is moved, the latter is actuated
21
238 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII.
by motives of piety to his Maker. Charac-
ters so essentially differing from each other,
cannot fail to secure for themselves in the
end widely different results. Fame and
popular applause may be very soothing
to the worldly mind in the day of health
and manly vigor. But when the solemn
hour of departing life arrives it vanishes,
leaving the trembling spirit agitated under
the most fearful and awful apprehensions
of a judgment to come. But the faithful
servants of the Most High, ' after having
" served their generation" 6 %,' or accord-
ing to, " the will of God" are said to "fall
asleep." This is a figurative expression
which is often used in Scripture to signify
the peaceful and happy termination of
the Christian's .mortal life. Their death
is represented under the idea of sleep.
1. On account of the sweet calm and
composure in which they depart this life.
The approach of death excites no terror
in the bosom of the Christian, because he
has the Lord Jehovah for his everlasting
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 239
strength. It matters not under what cir-
cumstances he comes, whether at mid-
night or in the morning; whether in a
slow measured pace, or as quick as the
lightning's flash, he walks " through the
valley and shadow of death," calm and
collected, fearing " no evil," for the " rod
and staff" of his divine Master afford him
unspeakable " comfort." " The sting of
death" being extracted, he is enabled in
grateful adoration to exclaim : " Thanks
he to God which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ" 1 Death to the
pious may with great propriety be repre-
sented under the idea of sleep.
2. Because they then rest from all the
toils and cares inseparable from this pro-
bationary state. As when evening comes
on the labourer takes his rest, and forgets
the toils of the day when he lies down to
sleep, so at death, the faithful servant of
God finishes his course of service, retires
1 1 Cor. xv., 57.
240 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII.
from the field of labor, and then goes to
his rest in the Paradise of God. There,
he joyfully waits in anticipation of that
" crown of righteousness which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, shall give at that day, unto
all them that love his appearing." 1 The
disembodied spirit in the heavenly world,
unquestionably, enjoys all the happiness
that it is capable of in its separate state.
But, its full and perfect fruition cannot
be realized until "Christ shall appear the
second time without sin unto salvation."
Then, and not till then, shall the whole
company of the redeemed exult in " the
saying brought to pass /■ that, "Death is
swallowed up in victory" 2 This leads us
to consider.
3. Another reason why the pious may
be said to 'fall asleep' in death. — Their
bodies shall then be raised to a glorious
immortality. Revelation teaches that at
the final catastrophe of the world, man-
* 2d Tim. iv. ; 8. 2 1 Cor. xv., 54.
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 241
kind universally shall be aroused from
their long slumbers, and be made to start
into life. But so broad will be the line
of distinction drawn, that the renewed
cheerfulness and vigor that follow rest,
cannot apply to all. " Many of them that
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame
and everlasting contempt." 1 " The hour is
coming" said our Lord, " in the which all
that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
and shall come forth /' — but mark the dis-
tinction ; " they that have done good unto
the resurrection of life; and they that have
done evil, unto the resurrection of damna-
tion" 2 The bodies of the saints shall be
formed and fashioned like the glorified
body of Christ : made capable of enjoying
in union with the soul, and bearing up
under, that, "far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory T Oh ! how full
of comfort is this consideration to the
believer. While he, with a sorrowing
1 Dan. xii., 2. 2 John v., 28-29.
21*
242 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII.
heart, deposits in the grave a departed
friend who died in the Lord, he may look
forward with a lively hope to the resur-
rection morning, when the vast empire of
death shall be utterly abolished; when
the bodies of the saints shall arise all-
glorious and immortal. Then, these
earthly tabernacles will no longer be clogs
to the soul in her devotional exercises;
but happy instruments and assistants in
all the exalted services of the Church tri-
umphant above.
But, on the other hand, the wicked,
being u vessels of wrath fitted to destruc-
tion" will be raised with bodies built upon
indestructible materials, only to be made
capable of enduring in union with the
soul, that "horrible tempest" of wrath,
which is to be their portion forever and
ever. Oh, who does not wish to escape
this tremendous doom of the finally im-
penitent, and to share in the ineffable
glories that are in reserve for the godly.
Baalam exclaimed : " Let me die the
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 243
death of the righteous, and let my last
end be like his I" 1 But how , vain was
such a wish unaccompanied with the
necessary qualifications. However strong
the desire of the ungodly may be to die
the death of the righteous and to have a
glorious end like theirs, it can never be
realized. The only way to this, is to live
the self-denying and pious life of the
righteous. We must here like them be
raised from a death of sin unto a life ot
righteousness by the power of the Holy
Spirit. And being thus quickened to life,
we must walk " as those that are alive
from the dead: seeking for glory, honor
and immortality, hy a patient continuance
in well-doing : being careful to maintain
good works, that are good and 'profitable
unto men" A firm foundation of peace
and comfort at the closing scene of life is
laid, only, after we have thus served our
generation by the will of God. Such was
the character and end of our late friend
1 Num. xxiii., 10.
244 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII.
and brother, the Rev. Peter Williams;
called away suddenly to us, but not to
him, from the field of toil and labor, to
rest in Abraham's bosom. Our departed
friend was brought under the influence of
saving grace in the most favorable season
of life. He gave heed to the admonition :
" Remember now thy Creator in the days of
thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor
the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I
have no pleasure in them." 1 Blessed as he
had been with the advantage of pious
parents, he very probably traced his early
religious impressions to their godly admo-
nitions and counsels. The time however
came that r must come to all, when the
sacred tie that bound the hearts of parents
and child together, had to be severed by
death. He was left behind to mourn the
loss of them for awhile ; but with what
raptures must they have hailed each
other as they met again on the borders of
the heavenly world, to part no more for-
1 Ecc. xii. ; 1.
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 245
ever. At the age of seventeen or eighteen
years, he became a communicant member
of the Episcopal church of which Dr.
Lisle was pastor. Soon after, he assisted
an aged gentleman, whose name was
Thomas McKoom, in giving catechetical
instruction to the children assembled in a
private room rented for that purpose. In
the same place a number of adults regu-
larly met on Sunday evenings for religious
purposes. The exercises were generally
conducted by Mr. McKoom. After the
death of this gentleman, Mr. Williams
was regularly appointed lay-reader. He
acted in that capacity until the year 1820,
at which time he was ordained deacon by
Bishop Hobart in the church in which he
dispensed the word of life to the close of
his earthly pilgrimage. He was ordained
priest by the same Bishop in the year
1826. He manifested a deep concern for
the improvement not only of the people
of his charge, but for his brethren gene-
rally. Hence he was found contributing
246 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII.
his influence and pecuniary means towards
supporting the various organized instru-
mentalities that had a tendency to elevate
and improve the condition and character
of his oppressed people. I doubt very
much, whether there exists in the city of
New York one single society having an
immediate bearing on the general interests
of our people, but what met with his
countenance and support. He was not
conspicuous in these matters. For no
man, perhaps, was less given to display,
or aimed less at popular applause than he.
If he could hide himself from personal
gaze, he seemed to be best pleased. His
whole deportment seemed to say : —
11 Let me be little and unknown,
Lov'd and priz'd by God alone."
A retiring modesty and unaffected diffi-
dence formed a very prominent feature
in his character. His hopes for an im-
provement in the character of our people
were in the young and rising generation,
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 247
in whom he manifested a lively interest.
Did he see a promising youth, who lacked
nothing but the necessary advantages to
enable him to reflect credit on himself and
people in a moral and intellectual point
of view; he was the man that would
spare no pains to get such an one in a
situation favorable to the development
of his powers. He took delight in seek-
ing out such cases. There is now a high
school in the city of New York that owes
its establishment chiefly to his untiring
efforts.
He was a universal friend. His coun-
tenance, which was expressive of kind
and benevolent feelings, added to that
ease and gentleness which were ever seen
in his manners, told every one that ap-
proached him, that he was in the presence
of a friend. He loved every one, hence
he was universally beloved in return.
To use the language of one w T ith whom
he had long been most intimate : — " he
was a friend to every body — he was
248 HAPPY END OP THE [SER. XII.
always in trouble about other people's
troubles. He was a kind of depository
for every one to lodge his cares and anxie-
ties. People of different denominations,
whenever they got in difficulty, would
invariably go to him ; and he, in the
kindness of his heart, would as often use
his endeavors to have their affairs satis-
factorily settled."
As it regards his fidelity and zeal in the
discharge of his ministerial duties, I need
only quote the words of his Diocesan,
delivered on the day of his interment.
" It was my privilege," says the venera-
ble Prelate, " to be often the depository
of the cares and anxieties, the longing
desires and earnest endeavors, the
w T atchfu] solicitudes, the cheering hopes,
the affectionate fears, and practical de-
pendance on God's grace, with which he
gave himself, instant in season and out
of season to his pastoral charge. I have
often said, and would now say, in con-
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 249
scious sincerity and integrity of heart,
that in all the wide range of my observa-
tion, I never knew a pastor whose whole
soul seemed more engaged in the great
work to which he had been set apart, I
have seen this in the happy results of his
ministry, and felt it in the many occasions
on which he has taken counsel with me
in matters pertaining to his high and holy
trust."
During the last two or three years of
our departed friend's life, it was evident
to his friends that his health was de-
clining. I have been informed that a
little while previous to his death, he had
one or two attacks of the apoplexy ; and
that he was impressed with the idea that
he would be called away in one of these
attacks. The solemn messenger, it is
true, did not come in this form, but his
purpose was not executed with less des*-
patch. He was aroused from his bed at
the hour of 11 o'clock, Saturday night,
17th ult, by an alarm of fire. He looked
22
C5T) HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII.
out at his window, and immediately com-
plained of a difficulty in breathing ; and
at 3 o'clock Sunday morning, he leaned
his head on his Saviour's bosom, and
breathed his life out sweetly there. Peace
to his mortal remains, until reanimated by
the voice of the Archangel and the trump
of God.
The task of friendship done to the
memory of our deceased brother, I shall
conclude in a few words to his dear rela-
tives. And here, my duty is easy. I have
only to point you, my dear friends, to the
consoling ingredients with which your
cup is mixed. You are taught by the
holy apostle, St. Paul, not to be sorry as
men without hope for those who sleep im
Jesus. For the comfort of the bereaved
and disconsolate, a voice from heaven
proclaimed : — " Blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord : even so saith the Spirit :
for they rest from their labors." I know it
would have added to your consoling
thoughts, if your hands had administered
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 251
to the last necessities of decaying nature ;
if you had been permitted to stand
around him and witness that calm sere-
nity of his countenance that bespoke his
inward peace. But the great Supreme,
who doeth all things right, ordered it
otherwise : and it is for us to quiet every
feeling by the pious consideration—" It is
the Lord" Ever cherish his memory by
following his example of piety and devo-
tedness to God. Take Christ as your por-
tion, and though separated you must be
for a while, you shall unite again in that
glorious region where parting shall be no
more forever. May we all be awakened
by this visitation of Providence, to a deep
sense of the vanity and uncertainty of
human life ; and be graciously led to seek
supremely those things which are above ;
" that so, among the sundry and manifold
changes of the world, our hearts may
surely there be fixed, where true joys are
to be found, through Jesus Christ our
Lord." — Amen.
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